3 dead in Shanghai knife attack on eve of China’s National Day holiday
15 people are recovering in hospital and a man has been detained after supermarket assault motivated by ‘personal grievances’
All of the victims were rushed to hospital, where three succumbed to their wounds. The remaining injured were not in life-threatening condition, Shanghai police said on Tuesday morning.
The police were alerted at 9.47pm and arrested a man shortly after the attack at a supermarket in Shanghai’s suburban Songjiang district. An investigation was under way, the statement said.
Police identified the alleged assailant as a 37-year-old man named Lin who travelled to Shanghai to “vent his anger” over a personal financial dispute. They did not disclose Lin’s place of origin.
The incident has cast a pall over the start of China’s week-long holiday, when domestic travel is expected to surpass pre-pandemic levels.
Videos circulating online sparked widespread anger, with many condemning the attack.
Surveillance footage from inside the supermarket showing the suspect was shared on China’s social media platform Weibo. The footage shows customers scattering as the alleged attacker moves around the shop, armed with two knives.
