Blade attacks in Indonesia and Beijing
In Indonesia, man with sword nabbed after attacking churchgoers
BEIJING/JAKARTA
Two blade attacks in two countries yesterday saw one woman killed and several people injured.
The knife attack in Beijing took place in a busy mall, while the one in Indonesia took place during a church service.
Beijing police said they had detained a man over the early afternoon attack at the Joy City Mall in Xidan district.
Three men and 10 women were taken to hospital after the attack and one woman later died of her injuries, police said. The others are expected to recover.
Police said they acted quickly and identified the detained man as a 35-year-old surnamed Zhu from Henan province.
The man had already confessed to carrying out the attack to"express his discontent".
Beijing radio showed pictures on WeChat accounts of blood on the floor in the mall and at least one injured person being taken from the scene.
In Indonesia, police said they shot a sword-wielding man who attacked a church congregation during Sunday Mass, injuring four people, including a priest.
Around 100 people were attending the mass at the church in Sleman town in the Yogyakarta region, when a man barged in wielding a 1m-long sword and began attacking people seemingly indiscriminately.
INJURED
"Four people have been injured in the incident - quite seriously - but we still cannot determine the perpetrator's motive," Yogyakarta police spokesman Yulianto said.
Congregation member Andhi Cahyo said that a few minutes after the mass started, someone barged into the church with a bleeding head. A young man holding a sharp weapon was chasing him.
"Everybody started panicking and screaming. I was scrambling to save my wife and children," he said.
People in the church ran out through another door and the assailant pursued them while destroying church property.
He also attacked a priest who was standing at the altar.
Police arrived and fired a warning shot into the air to subdue the perpetrator, who refused to surrender.
"After the warning shot was fired, the attacker charged towards the officer with his sword. The officer then shot him below his stomach, but he managed to injure the cop before being subdued," Mr Cahyo said.
All the victims were taken to hospital.
The suspect, who survived, was being held at a hospital where he was being treated.
The incident was the latest attack in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country against a minority group. Indonesia is also home to significant numbers of Christians, Hindus and Buddhists.- REUTERS, AFP
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