A violent stabbing incident at a Walmart supermarket in Shanghai on Monday night resulted in the deaths of three individuals and left 15 others injured. Chinese authorities have arrested a 37-year-old man, identified only by his surname, Lin, who reportedly launched the attack to “vent his anger due to a personal economic dispute.”
The attack occurred in the Songjiang district, a bustling area known for its population density and proximity to several universities. Police confirmed that the three victims died in the hospital, while the other injured individuals are not facing life-threatening conditions.
Eyewitness accounts describe scenes of chaos, with one witness, surnamed Shi, recounting, “There was blood everywhere.” Shi, who operates a jewelry store in the shopping mall, said that many people fled in panic as SWAT officers and firefighters arrived to secure the area. He expressed disbelief at the incident, stating, “No one had ever experienced something like this… This kind of random incident is terrifying and unsettling.”
In the aftermath, discussions about the event have reportedly been censored on Chinese social media platforms. Despite the violence, the supermarket reopened the following day with heightened security measures.
Although firearms are prohibited in China, the country has witnessed a troubling increase in knife attacks recently. Last month, a 10-year-old Japanese student was fatally stabbed near his school, and in June, four US college instructors were attacked in a public park in Jilin. Additionally, a violent incident in May saw a man kill two people and injure 21 others at a hospital in Yunnan province.