Bystander who tried to tackle Taipei knife attacker and died from wounds is hailed as hero

Taiwanese police rule out terrorism after smoke grenade and knife attack

One of the victims of a knife attack in Taiwan is being hailed as a hero for reportedly trying to stop the assailant before succumbing to his injuries.

A 57-year-old man surnamed Yu was among the three victims killed on Friday when a knife-wielding man carried out a series of indiscriminate stabbings in Taipei. At least 11 people were also injured in the mass stabbing incident.

The suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen, threw smoke grenades near an underground exit at Taipei Main Station and attacked people on the way to the next station at Zhongshan before falling to his death from the sixth floor of a department store building during a police chase.

Yu sustained a fatal 5cm-deep wound to his chest while trying to stop Chang at the metro's exit, according to the National Taiwan University Hospital. Yu acted bravely when he confronted the attacker, Taipei mayor Chiang Wan-an told reporters, adding that his death was "heartbreaking".

Chao Shiao-lien, the chair of Taipei Rapid Transit Corp, said Yu's intervention helped prevent further injuries in the attack at the station.

The Taiwanese government has announced compensation of NT$5m (£11,822) for Yu's family under Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s insurance coverage. The government is also offering psychological counselling and legal consultation to those who were injured and the families of the deceased.

Video footage aired by local media showed the suspect, wearing a gas mask and clad in black, dropping at least two smoke grenades at Taipei Main.

Taiwan police cordoned off the scene after a knife attack in Taipei, Taiwan, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025 (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

He then went north to a popular shopping district, throwing smoke grenades and stabbing people on the first and fourth floors of a department store, according to local news reports.

Police said Chang went to great lengths to avoid being stopped, carrying out the attack in multiple phases, changing his clothing and modes of transport several times, going from a scooter to a bike to walking. In the process, he set fire to his apartment, to roads and caused damage to cars and motorbikes.

A survivor said she was hit by the suspect outside the department store. “It did not feel like a slash – it felt more like being hit. Then it really hurt,” she said, adding that when she turned around, she saw “people lying on the ground and needing first aid because they were bleeding”.

Japanese tourist Kouta Kinoshita said he felt helpless as he attempted to prevent a scooter rider from bleeding to death during the attack.

Kinoshita, a former journalist, was on the first floor of the department store when he saw a man holding a knife running into the building. The Japanese national exited the store and saw Chang stab two people on the street, including a man on a scooter.

Kinoshita said he rushed over and tried to staunch the man's wound using his hand, but due to the unavailability of an emergency kit, the man continued to lose blood. He said he was left "heartbroken".

The man was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

Taiwan police cordoned off the scene after a knife attack in Taipei, Taiwan, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying) (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

“He was extremely cunning,” Li Hsi-Ho, chief of Taipei’s police, said during a news conference Monday. Li said the suspect had been preparing the assault since April 2024 by buying smoke grenades, gas canisters, respirators and other tools.

“He had been planning the crime for a year and a half, and his motive for the crime also began a year and a half ago,” Li said.

Taiwanese police have ruled out terrorism as a motivation for the attack, AFP reported.

“Based on what we have established so far in the investigation, the suspect Chang did not make or display any statements or views related to politics, religion, or any specific ideology, and we have preliminarily ruled out terrorism,” an official with the Taiwan police said.

“Terrorist attacks have a specific definition and the suspect does not meet that definition,” the official added.

He added that the probe indicated that Friday's attack was carried out by a single suspect and that investigators found searches for “random killings” on Chang's iPad. He reportedly also searched materials related to a 2014 Taipei metro stabbing, when four people were killed by a single man.

Authorities were still investigating his motive, but said the suspect had been wanted since July after failing to report to military service. He had previously served voluntarily in the military but had been fired for drunken driving.

He had not contacted his family for more than two years, authorities said.

Investigators recovered “lethal weapons” at the suspect’s rental home in Taipei and at the hotel room where he stayed for three nights near Zhongshan.

Taiwan’s premier Cho Jung-tai said it appeared the suspect "deliberately threw smoke bombs and wielded a long knife to carry out indiscriminate attacks on the public".

“We will investigate his background and associated relationships to understand his motives and determine if there are other connected factors,” the premier added.

Five of those injured in the attack remained in hospital on Monday, with one of them in intensive care but in stable condition after surgery, authorities said.