On Monday night, chaos erupted at the Ludu International Shopping Plaza in southwestern Shanghai’s Songjiang district just 20 minutes before closing time. A 37-year-old man, surnamed Lin, went on a stabbing spree, attacking strangers as he made his way through the shopping center. The attack unfolded as Lin traversed the food outlets and made his way upstairs to a Walmart, striking a total of 18 people, killing three of them in the process.

Among the witnesses was a 28-year-old construction worker, identified only as Zheng, who had just finished eating barbeque with a friend when the violence began. Zheng described seeing people “running, hiding, and screaming” as they desperately tried to escape. He and his friend attempted to stop Lin by throwing chairs at him to knock the weapons out of his hands. However, Zheng said Lin was moving too quickly, and they lost sight of him as he made his way to the second floor. Zheng believes that Lin’s route was premeditated, noting that “he must have scouted the area beforehand” and that his movements appeared deliberate, as though Lin had planned his exit routes in advance.

Two young stallholders outside the building, who witnessed the police subduing Lin, said that he walked out of the shopping center with a knife in each hand, showing no signs of panic or attempting to flee the scene. The witnesses described Lin as calm and composed, giving the impression that he was in control of the situation, even as the authorities closed in on him. Footage shared on social media captured the moment Lin was apprehended, his jacket stained with what appeared to be his victims’ blood.

According to police, Lin had traveled to Shanghai to “vent his anger” over a personal economic dispute, and their investigation is ongoing. The shocking attack left many bystanders traumatized, and it is part of a troubling trend of knife attacks in China this year.

Despite the gravity of the incident, the shopping plaza resumed business just 12 hours after the deadly attack, with no extended crime scene lockdown. The blood had been cleaned, and the only visible change was an increase in security presence. A young shopkeeper who was not at work during the attack said she is now afraid to return, comparing the situation to a movie. She pointed to the added security and police stationed near her clothing shop, acknowledging that their presence makes her feel somewhat safer. However, she also noted that her colleagues, who were on duty during the attack and had to flee, were too terrified to return to work.

Another stallholder, a woman who sells phone accessories and small electronics, shared how close she had come to danger. She explained that if she had delayed closing her stall by just 10 minutes, she would have been directly in Lin’s path. Overwhelmed with fear, she struggled to sleep after hearing about the attack, and although she returned to work the next day, she admitted she was still frightened.

This incident is the latest in a spate of knife attacks in China, raising concerns about underlying societal issues such as economic pressures and mental health. While authorities are not attempting to excuse these violent acts, there has been ongoing discussion about how these factors may contribute to the surge in such incidents. Some experts have raised concerns about the role of mental illness in these attacks, suggesting that they may be copycat attempts to gain attention.

The timing of the attack is particularly significant, as it coincided with the start of China’s weeklong National Day holiday, which marks the 75th anniversary of the Communist Party’s rise to power. What should have been a time of celebration was instead marred by bloodshed, with shocking footage of the injured circulating on social media. One particularly distressing image showed a woman cradling a stabbed toddler in her lap, sobbing as she tried to call for help. Her other hand was trembling uncontrollably.

At the time of writing, the two-and-a-half-year-old girl remained in intensive care, according to a family member who declined to be named. Meanwhile, discussion of the attack on China’s tightly controlled social media platforms has been subject to censorship, with many posts removed. Some users have found ways to continue talking about the incident by using specific phrases to avoid detection by the censors.

In online forums, some people have welcomed the fact that China’s strict gun control laws made it difficult for ordinary citizens to obtain firearms, suggesting that if Lin had access to guns, the death toll could have been much higher. However, the government’s attempts to suppress discussion about the attack, as well as similar violent incidents, suggest that authorities are deeply troubled by these outbreaks of violence.

During a visit to the Ludu International Shopping Plaza the day after the attack, reporters encountered resistance from mall management and staff at Walmart, with several employees instructed not to speak to the media. In some cases, interviews were interrupted mid-conversation. Zheng, the construction worker who had attempted to intervene, returned to the mall the next day and was shocked by how quickly the scene had been cleaned up, with no visible signs of the tragedy. He expressed sorrow for the victims, remarking that there were no flowers or memorials to mark the deadly event.

The attack has left a lasting impact on those who witnessed it, as well as the broader community, raising urgent questions about the underlying causes of these violent episodes in China.