1 Dead and 2 Injured in Dental Clinic Knife Attack
A dentist died and two nurses were injured, one critically, after a man entered a dental clinic in Taichung city and attacked them with a knife this afternoon, May 24.
Shortly after the clinic opened at 2:00pm, a 33 year-old man named Lai, whose sister worked at the clinic as a dental assistant, entered the clinic seeking his sister so he could borrow NT$1,000. The nursing staff, who were forewarned by the man’s sister, told the woman to hide and told Lai that she had not come into work today.
Lai became indignant, drew a folding knife, and attacked the two nurses, slashing them around the neck and face. When the 55 year-old dentist, Dr Wang, heard the nurses screaming, he went to investigate, and was also slashed in the neck.
When police and paramedics arrived at the scene, Lai, brandishing the bloody knife, was attempting to leave the clinic. Lai stood off with police, refusing to drop the knife, then ran back into the clinic. The police officers chased him and suppressed him with pepper spray, before handcuffing him.
Dr Wang and one nurse, named Weng, 25, had lost vital signs at the scene after suffering severe blood loss. Doctor Wang had a slashed carotid artery and trachea. Nurse Weng who suffered a severed subclavian artery, and a puncture wound to her trachea, was resuscitated and remains in a critical condition in the intensive care unit after undergoing 4 hours of surgery and blood transfusions in excess of 6,000cc.
However, Dr Wang could not be revived, due to the extent of his injuries, and was declared dead at the Chung Shan Hospital.
Another nurse, Ms Luo, 44, was treated for a stab wound to the shoulder, and reported to be not in a life threatening condition.
Lai’s family told police that Lai had entered the workforce after graduating from college five years ago. Everything was normal, and he had traveled to Australia for work and study. However, in the last 2 years, Lai’s mental condition had become unstable, and he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. He was on long-term medication, and had visited many psychiatric clinics.
Despite treatment, his mental condition had become worse in the last 3 months.
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