2024 Taichung Metro attack

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2024 Taichung Metro attack
Taichung City Hall Station Platform 1.jpg
Taichung City Hall Station platform
Location Taichung Metro Green Line (between Shui-an Temple and Taichung City Hall), Taichung, Taiwan
Date21 May 2024
11:15 (National Standard Time; UTC+08:00)
TargetNonspecific passengers of Taichung Metro
Attack type
Stabbing
WeaponsKnives
Deaths0
Injured3 (including the suspect)
PerpetratorPerson surnamed Hung
MotiveDissatisfaction with society due to familial and academic reasons

On 21 May 2024, a Taiwanese man carried out a stabbing spree directed at passengers on a Taichung Metro train near Taichung City Hall station. Three people, including the attacker, were injured. The attack occurred exactly ten years after the 2014 Taipei Metro attack. [1] [2]

Contents

Attack and immediate responses

The attacker entered Shui-an Temple Station at 11:03, boarded the train at 11:14, and began the attack at 11:15. [3] After the train stopped at Taichung City Hall at 11:16, [3] the attack was reported to the Taichung City Government Fire Bureau at 11:17. [4] A 17-year-old victim was lacerated in the chest, shoulder and arm. The other victim, a 27-year-old male, was slashed from his cheek to his jaw while attempting to stop the attack. The attacker injured his fingers. [4] [5] The injured were treated at Lin Shin Hospital. [6] Between 11:20 and 15:10, authorities conducted an investigation. [3]

In response to the attack, Taichung Mass Rapid Transit merged traffic from Wenxin Chongde and Wenxin Yinghua stations onto one track, while operations at Taichung City Hall station were suspended and restored by 15:30. [3] [7] [8]

Investigation

Authorities collected three knives at the scene. [9] [10] An early investigation led by Taichung City Police Department's Sixth Precinct determined that the attacker was a nursing student in Kaohsiung, and had checked into a motel room in Xitun District, Taichung, the day before the stabbing. [11] [5] [8] The attacker had arrived in Taichung without notifying his family of his travel plans. After relatives had been informed of the attack, they traveled to Taichung. [8]

Police sent the case to the Taichung District Prosecutor's Office. [12] The assailant, surnamed Hung, informed investigators that he was unhappy with Taiwanese society, sought to make his displeasure known via a killing, and chose the date coinciding with the 2014 Taipei Metro attack. [13] [14] The Taichung District Court sentenced Hung to ten years imprisonment on 26 December 2024. [14]

Aftermath

Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen commending "Long-Haired Man" Hsu Jui-hsien (right), the 27-year old victim. Chang Fa Ge -Xu Xian Sheng Shou Biao Yang .jpg
Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen commending "Long-Haired Man" Hsu Jui-hsien (right), the 27-year old victim.

The 27-year old stabbing victim recovered after surgery, [15] and both he and the 17-year old were awarded free rides on the Taichung Metro for life by mayor Lu Shiow-yen, who also stated that the Taichung City Government would pay medical fees for the victims. [16] [17] The teenage victim's father planned to raise NT$2 million and use the funds to purchase shields and batons for the Taichung Metro. [18] Upon meeting with Lu Shiow-yen, the 27-year old stabbing victim wore Monster Hunter clothes and cited lines from Frieren , seeking to overturn the preconception of otaku subculture. His action quickly incited discussions among the local anime fandom. [19] [20]

During the attack, Taichung Mass Rapid Transit received two notifications from the emergency intercommunications system. However, they reported no response from passengers, and concluded that riders had been too panicked to reply. [3] In turn, passengers claimed that they did not hear from the control center. As a result, Lu additionally vowed to improve the responsiveness of the intercom. [21]

Following the attack, police in Kaohsiung increased the frequency of patrols in train cars, throughout major Kaohsiung Metro stations, and in areas surrounding metro stations. [22] The Taipei City Government announced similar measures for the Taipei Metro. [23]

Shortly before Tsai Ing-wen stepped down as president, Ministry of Justice officials in her administration had defended the death penalty to justices of the Constitutional Court. [24] [25] As the attack happened the day after she had been replaced by William Lai, Lai's justice minister Cheng Ming-chien commented on the further discussion of the death penalty inspired by this attack. [26]

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References

  1. ↑ Xu, Xiaofei; Yeung, Jessie (21 May 2024). "Passengers subdue Taiwan metro knife assailant on tenth anniversary of deadly attack". CNN. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  2. ↑ Chin, Hui Shan (21 May 2024). "Man stabs passengers on Taiwan train on 10th anniversary of deadly subway stabbing spree". The Straits Times. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 趙, 麗妍; 郝, 雪卿; 蘇, 木春 (21 May 2024). "乘客持刀傷人 台中捷運公司還原2分鐘經過" (in Chinese). Central News Agency. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  4. 1 2 Chao, Li-yen; Hao, Hsueh-ching; Su, Mu-chun; Wu, Kuan-hsien (21 May 2024). "Man stabs two on Taichung metro, stopped by passengers". Central News Agency. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  5. 1 2 Hsu, Kuo-chen; Chang, Hsuan-che; Chin, Jonathan (22 May 2024). "Man stabs two on MRT; passengers subdue him". Taipei Times. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  6. ↑ Chang, Jui-chen; Madjar, Kayleigh (21 May 2024). "Four injured in knife attack on Taichung MRT". Taipei Times. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  7. ↑ Chao, Li-yen; Su, Mu-chun; Wu, Kuan-hsien (21 May 2024). "At least 4 wounded in Taichung metro stabbing". Central News Agency. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  8. 1 2 3 Chao, Li-yen; Hao, Hsueh-chin; Su, Mu-chun; Ko, Lin (21 May 2024). "Suspect in Taichung metro attack to be investigated for attempted murder". Central News Agency. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  9. ↑ "Passengers subdue attacker on Taichung City Hall MRT". TVBS. 21 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  10. ↑ Everington, Keoni (21 May 2024). "2 passengers, 1 suspect injured in knife attack on Taichung MRT". Taiwan News. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  11. ↑ "Taichung metro knife attacker identified". TVBS. 22 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  12. ↑ Everington, Keoni (22 May 2024). "Heroes who subdued Taichung metro attacker to ride MRT free for life". Taiwan News. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  13. ↑ 曾, 健祐. "中捷砍人偵結凶嫌動機曝！「讓全國看到自己」隨機殺人". United Daily News (in Chinese). Retrieved 2024-12-21.
  14. 1 2 Su, Mu-chuan; Kao, Evelyn (26 December 2024). "Man sentenced to 10 years for stabbing attack on Taichung MRT". Central News Agency. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  15. ↑ "Taichung metro hero safe after surgery, warns of scam". TVBS. 22 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  16. ↑ "Taichung mayor awards heroes free metro rides for life". TVBS. 22 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  17. ↑ Su, Mu-chun; Kao, Evelyn (22 May 2024). "Passengers who stopped Taichung metro attacker to get free rides for life: Mayor". Central News Agency. Retrieved 22 May 2024. Republished as: "Free rides for people who helped subdue attacker". Taipei Times. 23 May 2024. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  18. ↑ Hao, Hsueh-ching; Ko, Lin (24 May 2024). "Father of Taichung metro attack victim plans safety equipment donation". Central News Agency. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  19. ↑ 鍾, 知諭. "宅宅之光！中捷「長髮哥」領獎　穿魔物獵人周邊、引用《葬送的芙莉蓮》金句". Up Media (in Chinese). Retrieved 2024-07-04.
  20. ↑ 林, 彥廷 (2024-06-05). "長髮哥引用《葬送的芙莉蓮》台詞紅到國外　官方也發「如果是欣梅爾的話一定會這麼做的」" (in Chinese). CTS. Retrieved 2024-07-04.
  21. ↑ "Taichung mayor vows to improve metro intercom after attack". TVBS. 22 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  22. ↑ "Kaohsiung police boost MRT security after metro attack". TVBS. 22 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  23. ↑ "Taipei mayor boosts metro security after stabbing incident". TVBS. 22 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  24. ↑ Teng, Pei-ju (30 April 2024). "ANALYSIS/Key arguments from constitutional court's debate on death penalty". Central News Agency. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  25. ↑ Teng, Pei-ju (23 April 2024). "Overcoming family tragedy, attorney urges death penalty abolition in court debate". Central News Agency. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  26. ↑ "Taichung Metro stabbing reignites death penalty discussions". TVBS. 22 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
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