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Hong Kong Stabbing: Attacker Allegedly Asked Victims About Their Views on Protests Before Brutal Assault

One person, a journalist, is in critical condition after being stabbed. Two others escaped with minor injuries.
hong kong protests stabbing

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Three people in Hong Kong were stabbed early Tuesday at a “Lennon Wall” — a place to leave notes in support of the pro-democracy protests — in what reports suggest could be a politically motivated attack. One of the victims, a journalist, is in critical condition, reported Hong Kong newspaper the South China Morning Post.

Witnesses told the SCMP that the alleged attacker asked the victims about their views of the weeks-long anti-Beijing protests just before carrying out the attack in a tunnel in Tseung Kwan O in Hong Kong. Footage of the incident shows a man in a blue shirt attacking people with a knife near the Lennon Wall, and then running away.

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SCMP reported that a 50-year-old man had been caught and arrested in connection with the knife attack on the 26-year-old woman who works for the Hong Kong Economic Journal. The other two victims, a 24-year-old man, and a 35-year-old woman, suffered minor injuries.

The identities of the victims and the suspect have not been made public, but an unnamed police source provided some insight into the suspect’s possible motive. “An initial investigation showed his earnings could have been greatly affected by recent protests,” the source told SCMP.

Hong Kong has been rocked by months of protests that began as opposition an extradition bill that would have allowed for suspects to be sent to mainland China. That bill has been shelved, though not killed entirely, and the demonstrations have morphed into something bigger. People in Hong Kong are worried about Beijing’s encroachment on democracy in the semi-autonomous state and a police force they feel has grown increasingly violent against protesters. Anti-police chants like “dirty cops,” “triads,” and “fuck your mother” have become common.

WATCH: Hong Kong's mafia-like "Triads" are terrifying pro-democracy protesters

The stabbing early Tuesday is just the latest violent incident connected with the demonstrations. Last month, for instance, a group of thugs in white shirts — who were later connected to the mafia-like Triads — stormed a subway station and beat up demonstrators heading home from protests.

Pan-democratic lawmaker Roy Kwong Chun-yu expressed concerns about the latest violence to the SCMP.

“The government needs to tell us whether we still live in a safe society,” Kwong said.

Cover: Supporters of protests visit a Lennon Wall where colorful labels with messages demanding the Hong Kong government retract a controversial extradition bill are attached, in Hong Kong Friday, Aug. 2, 2019. Protesters plan to return to the streets again this weekend, angered by the government's refusal to answer their demands, violent tactics used by police — possibly in coordination with organized crime figures. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)