Taiwan’s usually orderly capital was jolted on the evening of December 19, 2025, when a man armed with smoke grenades and a long knife launched a brutal assault across central Taipei, killing at least three people and injuring nine others before falling to his death from a department store building. Authorities say the attacker, a 27‑year‑old identified as Chang Wen, first detonated smoke devices at Taipei Main Station and then moved through a nearby shopping district, stabbing passersby in a rampage that has shaken public confidence in one of East Asia’s safest cities.

Image Illustration. Photo by Refhad on Unsplash

A Coordinated Trail of Chaos

The attack began shortly after the evening rush hour, around 5:30 p.m. local time, when the suspect reportedly threw smoke grenades near an underground exit of Taipei Main Station, a sprawling hub that links intercity rail, high‑speed rail and the city’s metro network. Video footage circulated by local media shows plumes of smoke and panicked commuters fleeing as the man, dressed in black and wearing a gas mask, moved through the station area wielding a bladed weapon.

From there, he traveled toward the busy Zhongshan commercial district – either running along the street or via the metro for one stop, according to different local accounts – releasing more smoke devices and slashing at bystanders on the way. At the Eslite Spectrum Nanxi department store, a multi‑story mall popular with families and young shoppers, he continued attacking people on multiple floors, targeting victims’ necks and upper bodies. Police and city officials said three people were confirmed dead and nine injured by late evening, including at least one victim in critical condition. Local hospitals reported that several of the wounded suffered deep stab wounds, while others were treated for smoke inhalation.

The incident unfolded across at least two major transit nodes within the span of roughly half an hour, according to a preliminary chronology compiled by Taiwanese and international media. That pattern – smoke used to sow confusion, followed by rapid movement through crowded public spaces – has prompted investigators to treat the assault as a deliberate and planned mass attack rather than a spontaneous street crime.

Suspect Dies After Department Store Plunge

As police converged on the Zhongshan area, officers chased the suspect into the Eslite department store. There, amid ongoing chaos, he moved between floors before ultimately plunging from the sixth floor of the building. Authorities later confirmed that he was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. Officials have not publicly stated whether the fall was an attempt to escape or an act of self‑harm, but Taipei’s mayor said initial evidence suggested he jumped while trying to evade arrest.

Police later searched both the suspect’s rental residence in Taipei and a hotel room where he had reportedly stayed in the days before the attack, discovering multiple edged weapons and what authorities described as “lethal devices,” including additional smoke grenades and improvised incendiary materials. Investigators say they recovered as many as 25 Molotov cocktails from the hotel room, suggesting the attacker may have contemplated an even more destructive operation.

Who Was the Attacker?

Authorities identified the perpetrator as Chang Wen, a 27‑year‑old man from Taoyuan in northern Taiwan. Local media and government briefings say Chang was a former volunteer soldier in the Republic of China Air Force, discharged in 2022 after serving in a communications unit near Taipei’s Songshan Airport. He reportedly had a prior criminal record and was wanted for evading mandatory reserve military service, with prosecutors issuing a warrant in 2024 after he failed to report for training.

Police say they are still examining his personal writings and digital footprint to determine a motive. A notebook believed to belong to Chang was recovered at the scene, and officers have interviewed family members and acquaintances to piece together his recent movements and mental state. As of late Friday, investigators had not announced any evidence of accomplices or links to organized extremist groups, though Premier Cho Jung‑tai said the government would “fully probe” any potential networks.

Rare but Growing Fears Over Public‑Space Violence

Violent crime remains relatively rare in Taiwan, which consistently ranks among the safest societies in Asia when measured by homicide rates and overall crime statistics. Government data show Taiwan’s intentional homicide rate has hovered around 0.6 per 100,000 people in recent years – far below global averages – and overall crime has been declining for more than a decade. Yet the latest stabbings have revived traumatic memories of previous attacks on the island’s mass transit systems.

In 2014, a 21‑year‑old man murdered four people and injured more than 20 others in a knife attack on the Taipei Metro, the first mass killing in the system’s history. He was later executed, and the incident led to sweeping security upgrades on trains and in stations. More recently, in May 2024, a knife‑wielding passenger wounded three people in a stabbing spree on the Taichung MRT, exactly ten years to the day after the 2014 rampage. While fatalities were avoided in the 2024 attack, it underscored continued vulnerabilities in crowded urban transit corridors.

Friday’s events in Taipei appear deadlier still. A consolidated tally by local media and international outlets indicates that four people, including the suspect, ultimately died and at least five others were injured, though official figures during the first hours fluctuated between three and four dead and five to nine wounded as hospitals updated their reports.

Government Response and Security Tightening

Within hours of the attack, Premier Cho ordered heightened security at major transportation hubs across the island, including metro systems, intercity rail stations, highways and airports. Authorities boosted patrols, increased random bag checks and deployed additional surveillance teams, while urging the public to remain calm but vigilant in crowded areas.

President Lai Ching‑te condemned the violence as an “intolerable” threat to public safety and promised that officials would quickly clarify the attacker’s background, motives and possible procurement channels for his weapons. Shortly after the incident, Taiwanese media reported that some online listings for replica or civilian‑grade smoke grenades were taken down, and regulators signaled they could review oversight of such devices.

Witness Accounts and Public Anxiety

Eyewitnesses described harrowing scenes as smoke filled parts of Taipei Main Station and nearby streets. Commuters recounted stumbling through hazy corridors and hearing screams as people ran from the attacker. Others took shelter in shops and cafés as rumors spread that multiple assailants might be involved – claims police later said they found no evidence to support. One of the dead was a 57‑year‑old man who reportedly tried to intervene near a station exit and was fatally stabbed while attempting to stop the attacker, according to Taipei’s mayor and hospital officials.

Parents rushed to contact children commuting home from school or part‑time jobs, while office workers struggled to navigate cordoned‑off streets and suspended train services in parts of the downtown core. By late night, social media in Taiwan was filled with calls for both tougher security and better mental‑health support, reflecting a society grappling with how to prevent rare but devastating acts of violence without undermining its open, commuter‑driven urban life.

Looking Ahead: Balancing Security and Openness

As investigators piece together the final hours and motivations of the man behind Friday’s attack, Taiwan faces difficult questions that many advanced democracies have confronted after similar incidents: how to secure crowded public spaces without transforming daily life into a gauntlet of checkpoints and fear.

Security specialists say that Taiwan, with its dense transit systems and high urban population, may need to expand behavioral‑threat assessment teams, improve coordination between police and mental‑health services, and tighten commercial access to items such as realistic smoke grenades and certain types of knives without stigmatizing lawful users. They also emphasize public education: encouraging citizens to report suspicious behavior, learn basic first aid for trauma and smoke inhalation, and understand evacuation procedures in large stations and malls.

For now, the images from Taipei – a man in a gas mask dropping smoke grenades in one of the city’s busiest transport hubs, shoppers and commuters fleeing through swirling gray haze, first responders working frantically over blood‑stained floors – have left a deep mark on a society that prides itself on safety and civility. The investigation into Chang Wen’s life and motives may eventually yield answers, but for many residents, the more urgent question is whether such a nightmarish evening could happen again – and what can be done, collectively, to reduce that risk.