TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- A dentist was killed and two nurses has been injured, one critically, after a mentally ill man entered their dental clinic in Taichung City and attacked them with a knife yesterday afternoon (May 24), reported CNA.

Thursday afternoon a 33-year-old man surnamed Lai (賴) entered a dental clinic in Taichung City looking to borrow NT$1,000 from his sister, who works there as a dental assistant. Knowing that he was coming, his sister notified staff in advance to have them tell him that she had taken the day off to avoid him as she hid inside.

However, when Lai was told that his sister was not in the office that day, he pulled out a folding knife and started flailing it towards staff. He stabbed and slashed two nurses and when a 55-year-old dentist surnamed Wang (王) heard the screams of the nurses, he rushed to the scene, when Lai slashed his neck.

When police arrived on the scene, they ordered Lai several times to drop the knife, but he did not comply, so they doused him with pepper spray. In a video of the incident, police can be heard repeating their command several times until the dazed Lai finally dropped the knife and the officers then pounce on him and restrain him with handcuffs.

The staff can still be heard wailing in the background as their colleagues lay bleeding and a police officer can be heard calling for an ambulance.

When Wang arrived at Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, he was not showing any vital signs and despite efforts to resuscitate him, because his carotid artery was severed, and his trachea and esophagus ruptured, doctors were unable to save him. Wang was declared dead at 4:34 p.m.

A 25-year-old nurse surnamed Weng (翁) was reportedly in shock when she arrived at the hospital and suffered a rupture of her right subclavian artery and partial trachea rupture. She underwent emergency surgery and is still listed in critical condition.

A 43-year-old nurse surnamed Lo (羅) suffered a 0.5 centimeter laceration to her left neck, however the wound is not considered life-threatening and she was released from the hospital after receiving treatment.

Lai was brought back to the police department for questioning where he confessed to committing the crime. Police have since transferred him to the Prosecutor's Office on charges of homicide.

In 2013, Lai graduated from National Chung Hsing University and in 2015 Lai went on a work-study program in Australia, but quit after two months complaining about the poor local environment there. The then worked for a while in security for luxury homes, before also quitting.

According to Lai's family, he was suffering from mental illness for which he had been taking medication for some time. Recently, his mental state had taken a turn for the worse and he became delusional, thinking that his sister was trying to make his life miserable.



Google map image of clinic on Jiancheng Road in Taichung's South District.