2024 Taichung Metro Attack

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.

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. After the train stopped at Taichung City Hall at 11:16, the attack was reported to the Taichung City Government Fire Bureau at 11:17. 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. The injured were treated at Lin Shin Hospital. Between 11:20 and 15:10, authorities conducted an investigation.

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.

Investigation and legal actions

Authorities collected three knives at the scene. 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. 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.

Police sent the case to the Taichung District Prosecutor's Office. The assailant, Hung Ching, 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. The Taichung District Court sentenced Hung to ten years imprisonment on 26 December 2024. The Taichung High Court reduced Hung's sentence by three months in an April 2025 ruling, after he and the 17 year-old victim had reached a settlement. Republished as:

Aftermath and reactions

The 27-year old stabbing victim recovered after surgery, 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. Republished as: The teenage victim's father planned to raise NT$2 million and use the funds to purchase shields and batons for the Taichung Metro. 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.

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. 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.

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. The Taipei City Government announced similar measures for the Taipei Metro.

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. 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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taichung Metro attack
May 2024 in Taiwan
2024
Stabbing attacks in 2024
Knife attacks in Taiwan
Attacks on railway stations in Asia
May 2024 crimes in Asia
Copycat crimes