Monday, July 7, 2008

The Shimering Blade; Part Two



On the heels of our previous post "The Shimering Blade", we saw what a knife can do in the hands of an expert.
The question is; how did this guy kill this many policemen in their own headquarters without being stopped. I think this reflects the dangerous nature of knife attacks, even by an untrained attacker.

Man with knife kills 5 police in Shanghai By ANITA CHANG, Associated Press Writer
Tue Jul 1, 12:02 PM ET
A jobless man bent on revenge and armed with a butcher knife stormed a police station in Shanghai on Tuesday, slashing and stabbing officers inside and killing at least five, authorities and local media said.
The Shanghai Public Security Bureau said in a news release that a 28-year-old man with the surname Yang set a fire outside the building's gate and then rushed inside and began attacking officers.
Five officers died after being taken to a hospital, while four other police officers and a security guard were hurt, the statement said.
Some suffered stab wounds to the chest while others were slashed across the face or neck, the Chinese news Web portal sina.com reported.
News photos showed the large bloodstained butcher knife allegedly used in the attack and Yang sitting handcuffed on a chair after he was detained. One sleeve of his white T-shirt appeared to be blood spattered.
Yang, who is from Beijing and unemployed, said he was seeking revenge after officers at the station in Shanghai's Zhabei district investigated him last year for allegedly stealing bicycles, police said. He was taken into custody at the station.
It was not immediately clear how the attacker, who appeared slight in the news photo, managed to stab so many police officers and why he was not detained after setting a fire outside the building. Though Chinese police are permitted to carry guns, the attack took place in an office building and it was possible officers there were not armed.
A woman at the Zhabei district station referred questions to the Shanghai Public Security Bureau. Phones rang unanswered in the bureau's propaganda department.
Violent street crime is rare in China, where private gun ownership is virtually banned.

2 comments:

Sean C. Ledig said...

Knives in general are very scary weapons for most people. It shouldn't be any surprise since you have to get really up-close-and-personal to use it effectively. You will get blood splatters.

My Wing Chun sifu is a retired criminal defense lawyer. He confirmed something that I'd heard elsewhere: You'll have an easier time pleading self defense to a jury if you shoot a person than if you stab one.

My Jeet Kune Do and Filipino Tribal Arts teacher liked to tell this joke about knifefighting.

Q: What do you call a knife-fighter who just spent two weeks in intensive care?

A: The winner of the fight.

Dojo Rat said...

I'm still amazed that the guy could kill five policemen in their own police station....