CLIFFORD LO AND SAMUEL CHAN
PUBLISHED : Monday, 19 October, 2015, 10:15am
UPDATED : Monday, 19 October, 2015, 1:21pm
Police officers subdue the suspect. Photo: SCMP Pictures
Schoolchildren and passers-by fled in terror as a man wielding a knife attacked and injured two pedestrians on a Hong Kong street this morning, just a block away from a police station.
Witnessed described a terrifying scene as more than 30 officers rushed from Western Police Station after receiving a report at 7.45am that the man had attacked two pedestrians.
Police officers, some who drew their guns, subdued the suspect, 43, on a walkway on Des Voeux Road West, Sai Ying Pun. An initial investigation showed the attacker had a history of mental illness, according to a police source.
A woman, 45, suffered wounds to her waist and shoulder and taken to hospital by ambulance, while a man, 65, who suffered minor hand injuries did not require hospital treatment, a police spokeswoman said. Police retrieved two knives from the scene.
Ng Kam-wah, a 60-year-old security guard at the Siu On Building on the opposite side of Des Voeux Road West, said primary school pupils and passers-by ran for cover when the attack began.
“[The attacker] held both of his knives high, staring at people around him and then walked calmly after he slashed a woman,” Ng said.
“The woman, clearly a passer-by, had deep cuts in both her shoulder and arm, and was covered in blood,” said the 60-year-old, adding that an elderly man was also cut but suffered only slight injury and required no medical help.
“There were a lot of school kids on the street – people were fleeing in every direction after it happened.”
About a minute after the incident, Ng said 30 police officers from the adjacent Western Police Station arrived at the scene, with around 10 of them drawing their guns.
“[The attacker] was crossing the street towards me when the officers arrived. They pointed their guns at the mad man and told him to drop his knives,” Ng said.
“As soon as the man spread both of his arms and dropped his knifes, five to six officers immediately forced him on the ground and subdued him.”
The police spokeswoman said that when officers arrived the man was emotionally unstable.
“Officers issued repeated verbal warnings but he ignored them. Officers then drew their guns and subdued him,” she said.
Officers cordoned off the area while detectives were investigating.
A Sai Ying Pun resident surnamed Choi said she visited the area every morning to eat dim sum at a Chinese restaurant.
“There’s no way you can tell whether someone has mental problems by appearance,” said the 80-year-old resident of Centre Street.
“But I suppose this should be an isolated incident and there’s no institution for patients with mental illness nearby since the one on High Street was closed.”
The scene of the attack on Des Voeux Road West near the junction with Chung Ching Street is less than 100 metres from Western Police Station.
“My colleagues said the suspect was talking nonsense at the time of the incident,” said acting chief inspector Chiu Chi-wing of Western Police Station.
He said the suspect did not know the two injured passers-by and his motive remained unknown.
He said the man had a history of mental illness and police would check with the Hospital Authority to find out more about his medical background.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1869337/man-carrying-two-meat-cleavers-attacks-and-injures
