Beijing Uniqlo sword attack: Woman dies after being stabbed in a shopping complex

Police said they detained a 25-year-old suspect after the attack

A woman and man were stabbed outside the Uniqlo store in Beijing (FRED DUFOUR/AFP/Getty Image)

A woman has died in hospital after she was stabbed by a sword-wielding attacker in a shopping complex in Beijing.

A man, believed to be the woman's French husband, was also stabbed in the attack in the Sanlitun shopping district today. His condition remains unknown.

Beijing’s public security department said in a statement that they had detained a 25-year-old suspect, whose surname is Gao, from Jilin province, according to the Beijinger.

Police said they began receiving reports that a man was attacking people “with a long knife” just before noon today, the Guardian reported.

The man had chased the woman, who is from Shandong province, to outside the Uniqlo shop where she was stabbed, according to The Nanfang.

Social media photos showed a man with a long sword pacing outside the shop. Others showed a woman covered in blood laying on the ground and the scene being cordoned off.

Additional reporting by Reuters