Passers-by and staff using trolleys and a ladder helped to subdue a knifeman who wounded a cashier at a fast-food outlet in a Hong Kong shopping centre, with five people, including the suspect, hurt after a scuffle.
Police were called in at about 7pm on Wednesday after a man was reported to have walked into a Fairwood restaurant in Sha Tin’s Shui Chuen O Plaza wielding a 30cm kitchen knife.
A source familiar with the case said the man, a resident of Shui Chuen O Estate, had a record of mental illness.
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He targeted a female cashier, 50, who sustained cuts to her left arm and nose.
Alerted by shouts for help, a male restaurant manager, 46, came out from the back and tried to stop the attacker.
Several people joined in to help, using at least two trolleys as a shield while another man picked up a ladder and hit the suspect with it.
After a fierce struggle, the man was overpowered and subdued inside the mall.
Police soon arrived and arrested the suspect, 43.
The cashier was taken to hospital. She had 4cm knife wounds on her left arm and nose.
The manager and a male customer, 44, also required hospital treatment for neck cuts sustained during the scuffle. The suspect complained of a headache and was also taken to hospital.
Another woman working in the restaurant was said to be suffering from shock.
Online videos show the suspect in a red shirt in a confrontation while holding the knife. A pedestrian raises a metal ladder and strikes him in an attempt to stop him moving closer.
Others are heard shouting, “Put down the knife”, and warning people to watch out.
Terrified shoppers are also seen fleeing as the confrontation continues.
Police are investigating the suspect’s background and motives for the attack.
In June last year, two women were stabbed to death in a shocking knife attack at the Plaza Hollywood shopping centre in Diamond Hill.
The male suspect was later charged with two counts of murder.
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