TAIPEI: The suspect behind violent attacks at Taipei Main Station and Zhongshan Station on Friday (Dec 19) evening was believed to have planned the assault as early as April 2024, Taipei police said on Sunday.
The smoke bomb and knife attacks killed three victims and injured 11. The suspect, identified as 27-year-old Chang Wen, later died after jumping off a building. Police have preliminarily ruled out terrorism and believe Chang acted alone.
Investigators believe Chang began buying supplies for the attack in April last year, Lu Chun-hung, head of the Taipei Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division, said at a news conference on Sunday, as quoted by local media outlets.
Chang purchased items with possible offensive or defensive properties, including tactical gloves, a gas mask, a protective shield and industrial alcohol, Lu said. They were bought on e-commerce platform Shopee.
In January this year, Chang bought 24 Chinese-made smoke bombs for NT$48,000 (US$1,520) from Ruten, another e-commerce platform. He had claimed the bombs were for use in an airsoft survival game, according to Taiwanese media reports.
In November, Chang also bought items including gasoline cans, gas cartridges, torch lighters and methyl alcohol. These were used to make Molotov cocktails, said Taipei police.
Chang used all of the smoke bombs in Friday’s attack, Lu shared during Sunday’s news conference.
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