Four killed in Taipei subway attack

Four people were killed and 21 others were injured in a random attack in a Taipei Metro train Wednesday afternoon.

The dead are two men and two women. All the injured have been sent to hospital, Xinhua reported.

A young man began to assault passengers with a knife of about 20 centimetres long in a carriage at about 4.30 p.m. when the train was traveling from Longshan Temple to Jiangzicui. He then tried to run away, but was captured by police and is under interrogation.

The suspect, Cheng, 21, is a sophomore at Tunghai University. He confessed to police that he had planned the attack a long time ago but only decided to commit the crime last week. The suspect showed no regret, police said.

It is still unclear whether the suspect has any mental illness, police said.

A female student on the platform at Jiangzicui station said that when the train pulled up, a bloodied women ran out as soon as the door opened, shouting "a man inside with a knife attacking at random, don't go in!"

"I'm so scared, help me!" shouted another victim after police arrived on the scene.

As of 4.50 p.m., the subway returned to normal operation.

The Taipei subway sees about 1.8 million passengers on an average day, while only 135 police officers are stationed there.

Police have increased patrolling.