THREE people were killed and 15 wounded in a knife attack at a Shanghai supermarket on Monday evening, just as the country was gearing up for its National Day holiday week.
According to reports, the suspected attacker, a 37-year-old man surnamed Lin, was arrested at the supermarket shortly after the incident, local police said in a statement.
The incident took place at a shopping mall in Songjiang, a densely populated district in the city's south-west, which is also home to several universities.
Eighteen wounded people were taken to hospital for treatment, where three died. The other 15 did not sustain life-threatening wounds.
"There was blood everywhere.
"I didn’t know what was happening, but suddenly, I saw people running in a panic," an eyewitness surnamed Shi told BBC News.
According to an initial investigation by police, Lin had travelled to Shanghai to vent his anger following a personal financial dispute.
Public stabbing incidents have risen over the years in China, with authorities often putting the blame on mental illness. Children at schools are a common target.
Last month, a 10-year-old Japanese student died a day after he was stabbed near his school in southern China.
In June this year, four US college instructors were stabbed in a public park in the northeast city of Jilin. In May, a man stabbed two people and wounded 21 others at a hospital in the southern province of Yunnan. - October 1, 2024
