Three people have died and 15 others were injured after a stabbing rampage inside a Walmart supermarket in Shanghai on Monday night. The attacker, identified as a 37-year-old man surnamed Lin, was arrested at the scene by Chinese police. Authorities stated that Lin had come to Shanghai to “vent his anger due to a personal economic dispute.” Investigations are ongoing.
The incident took place in a shopping mall located in the densely populated Songjiang district, southwest of the city, which houses several universities. Those who succumbed to their injuries were declared dead at the hospital, while the remaining injured are not in critical condition.
“There was blood everywhere,” said Mr. Shi, an eyewitness who runs a jewelry store at the mall. He described the panic and chaos as people fled in fear when dozens of firefighters and SWAT officers arrived to evacuate the area. Shi added that he “narrowly escaped” the attack, emphasizing the terror caused by such random incidents.
While the Walmart reopened with enhanced security the following day, discussions about the stabbing have reportedly been censored on Chinese social media platforms. This attack follows a series of knife-related incidents in China in recent months, including a stabbing that claimed the life of a 10-year-old Japanese student in southern China last month.