Hong Kong police have detained a homeless man suspected of carrying out a knife attack that left two people critically injured, following a manhunt lasting for over 24 hours.
Police apprehended a 31-year-old man surnamed Hon in Hung Hom on Sunday, a day after he allegedly attacked two men with a knife at Hoi Sham Park in To Kwa Wan.
Local media reported that the arrest took place at about 4pm, around 28 hours after the attack.
At a media briefing held on Sunday, before the suspect was detained, Superintendent Gar Kam-lam said the suspect was a street sleeper who frequently visited parks in Sham Shui Po and Hung Hom.
On Saturday, the suspect was sitting at a pavilion in Hoi Sham Park, while the two male victims – aged 37 and 24 – were sharing food and drinks at a table. A 70-year-old resident, whom police said lived nearby, was also present.
According to police, the suspect sat alone, looking at his phone. He also looked in the direction of the two victims, but they had no interaction. About 30 minutes later, the suspect walked towards the two men, pulled a palm-sized fruit knife and attacked them.
The suspect fled along the promenade after the attack and tossed the knife into the sea. As of Sunday afternoon, police had not recovered the knife.
The attack left the 37-year-old with three cuts on his shoulders, while the 24-year-old suffered from 10 cuts on his neck, chest, back and hand.
They were sent to Queen Elizabeth Hospital for treatment. Both were in critical condition as of Sunday afternoon.
The superintendent said Hon had no triad connections.
The police force does not rule out the possibility that the suspect has a mental illness, although there is no record of him seeking psychiatric services at public hospitals.
Whether the victims said something that triggered Hon would be one of the lines of police investigation, Gar added.
