The 50-year-old male who stabbed a Hong Kong police officer on the anniversary of the city’s go back to Chinese guideline on Thursday was a “lone wolf” who dedicated a terrorist act, Secretary for Security Chris Tang stated.
Police stated late on Thursday they were examining a tried murder and suicide after a guy assaulted a law enforcement officer from behind, then stabbed himself in the chest with the knife.
The male was sent out to the healthcare facility, where he passed away about an hour later on. The police officer, 28, sustained an injury on his back and a punctured lung and went through surgical treatment, authorities stated.
Speaking to press reporters early on Friday, Tang stated the stabbing was a “local lone wolf terrorist attack.”
He stated authorities browsed the house of the 50-year-old, whom he did not recognize, and stated products on his computer system revealed he was “radicalized,” without supplying additional information.
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A crowd collected at the scene of the attack in the future Friday afternoon to grieve the male’s death. Scores of individuals worn black put white flowers close by, as officers patrolled the location and browsed them.
Security was tight in Hong Kong on Thursday, with countless policeman, in addition to water cannon trucks and armored automobiles released throughout the city.
The handover anniversary is when 10s of thousands generally rally to object anything from Beijing’s grip on the city to unaffordable real estate. Police had actually prohibited events this year, mentioning coronavirus.
A nationwide security law which Beijing troubled Hong Kong in 2015 in reaction to months of pro-democracy demonstrations in 2019 has actually likewise dissuaded individuals from event. The law penalizes anything China considers as subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces.
More than a lots individuals were jailed for “possession of an imitation firearm, possession of an offensive weapon, desecration of the national flag, distribution of seditious publications” and other offenses, according to a federal government declaration.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam, who had actually simply returned from Beijing where she went to events for the Chinese Communist Party’s centenary, condemned the stabbing and the other prohibited acts in a declaration.
“After going through months of riots in the second half of 2019, members of the public abhor violence and treasure very much the stability of society since the implementation of the National Security Law last year,” she stated.
