Knife attacker kills three after smoke bombing Taipei metro

At least three people have been killed and five others injured as a knife-wielding attacker ‍went ‍on a ​rampage in the Taiwanese capital Taipei.

The 27-year-old suspect set off smoke bombs at Taipei’s main metro station on Friday, before running to another station in a busy shopping district, stabbing people along the way, Taiwanese Premier Cho Jung-tai said.

The suspect later died after falling from a building, Cho added. His motive remains unclear.

Attacks of this kind are rare in Taiwan, which has low rates of violent crime. The last time a similar incident struck Taipei was more than a decade ago in 2014.

Friday’s attack took place during the city’s evening rush hour. Videos shared on social media show people fleeing the scene in panic.

Cho said the suspect had detonated smoke bombs and Molotov cocktails at Taipei’s Main Station, which is connected to a busy underground shopping street.

A man reportedly tried to stop the attacker but was struck with a blunt object and later died in hospital.

The suspect then went to another subway station about 800m away, where he set off more smoke bombs and stabbed more people.

Cho said he had ordered increased security at metro and railway stations, as well as airports, in response to the attack.

“We will ‌investigate [the suspect’s] background and associated relationships to understand his motives and ‍determine ‌if there are other connected factors,” Cho was quoted by news agency Reuters as saying.

Taiwan’s President William Lai also promised a swift investigation.

The last major incident of this kind, in 2014, saw a man kill four people on an underground train in Taipei, shocking people in Taiwan. The perpetrator of that attack was executed two years later.