TAIPEI — At least three people were killed and nine others injured after a knife-wielding attacker carried out a deadly rampage across central Taipei during the evening rush hour on Friday, Taiwanese authorities said.

Taiwanese Premier Cho Jung-tai said the 27-year-old suspect detonated smoke bombs and Molotov cocktails at Taipei Main Station before moving through underground shopping areas and nearby streets, stabbing people along the way.

The attack began at around 5:20 p.m. local time (09:20 GMT), one of the busiest periods of the day.

Officials identified the suspect as Chang Wen, a Taiwanese national. Cho said the attacker later died after falling from a multi-storey building while being pursued by police. His motive remains unclear.

According to authorities, the suspect fled from Taipei Main Station through an underground shopping centre toward Zhongshan Station, approximately 800 meters away.

After briefly returning to his hotel to retrieve another weapon, he resumed the attack outside Zhongshan Station, where further smoke bombs were set off and additional people were stabbed.

A man who attempted to stop the attacker was struck with a blunt object and later died in hospital, officials said.

The suspect eventually entered a nearby bookshop and department store, where he fell from the building after police surrounded the area. He was pronounced dead shortly after being taken to hospital.

Videos circulating on social media showed panicked crowds fleeing as a man dressed in black threw smoke devices across busy streets while carrying a large knife.

Cho said he ordered heightened security measures at metro and railway stations as well as airports following the attack. “We will investigate the suspect’s background and associated relationships to understand his motives and determine if there are other connected factors,” he said, according to Reuters.

Taiwanese President William Lai also pledged a swift and thorough investigation.

Violent attacks of this nature are rare in Taiwan, which has one of the lowest violent crime rates in the region.

The last comparable incident occurred in 2014, when a man killed four people in a stabbing attack on a Taipei metro train. — Agencies