Social media post threatens similar attack in Kaohsiung after Taipei stabbings

Kaohsiung, Dec. 20 (CNA) Police in Kaohsiung are trying to trace a copycat threat that was made on social media Friday after a deadly knife attack in Taipei that left three people dead and several others injured.

In an anonymous post on the social media platform Threads, the user said that the suspect in the attack at Taipei Main Station was a "brother" and that they belonged to the "same organization," according to the Kaohsiung precinct of the Railway Police Bureau,

The user threatened to continue what the Taipei suspect had "failed to complete," warning that Kaohsiung Main Station would be the next target, the bureau said in a statement Saturday.

The post ended with a declaration that the group would "reshape a dysfunctional society," police said.

The threat is being investigated, and Kaohsiung's Criminal Investigation Corps is racing to trace the source of the post, the bureau said.

Kaohsiung Main Station is a railway and metro hub in the city's Sanmin District for Taiwan Railway and Kaohsiung Rapid Transit.

￭ Man killed trying to stop random knife attacker: Taipei mayor

The threat was posted hours after an attack unfolded Friday evening in the area of Taipei Main Station and the nearby Zhongshan Station. The 27-year-old suspect, Chang Wen (張文), threw smoke grenades and randomly attacked people with a knife near the two metro hubs, killing three and injuring several others before apparently jumping to his death from a multistory building, police said.

Following the social media post, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said authorities would speed up efforts to identify the person behind the threat, and he warned that such actions would not be tolerated.

Meanwhile, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said the city will step up security at its railway, metro, and high-speed rail stations.

Kaohsiung authorities are working closely with the National Police Agency and other relevant national security units, as the investigation continues, Chen added.