Special Correspondent: Ren Dongkuang
Initium Media Reporters: Guo Liang, Zhang Yucheng
Published:September 28, 2026, 07:00
In a narrow passageway, a man with a buzz cut, wearing a black shirt, blue jeans, a mask, and glasses, stabbed a woman in the face with a sharp knife. She was carrying shopping bags and was completely unprepared. Instinctively, she used her left hand to deflect the knife, which fell to the ground. She crouched down against the wall, covering her eyes with her hands. The man ran away quickly after the attack.
This is footage from surveillance video. On the afternoon of September 14, 2026, at around 5 PM, a knife attack occurred in the vicinity of the GOGO Xintiandi Shopping Mall (hereinafter referred to as “GOGO Mall”) in University Town, Panyu District, Guangzhou. A man dressed in black stabbed multiple people in a shopping mall. According to videos circulating online, many of the victims were women, including an elderly woman.
News of the attack quickly spread online. Students, shopkeepers, delivery drivers, and others near the university campus warned each other, “Don’t come near the mall! The perpetrator has escaped, he’s got a knife, and they haven’t caught him yet.” No one knew the man’s identity, only that he was a “man with a black buzz cut” and “carrying a black bag, probably full of knives.”
Panic spread rapidly. Some said the man “stabbed directly in the eyes and ran away,” “It’s terrifying, an extremist! Only these days exist.” People didn’t know where he went. Some speculated he fled the mall to a nearby urban village, “Don’t go out,” “Those with elderly people or children at home should notify them and keep them indoors today.”
People speculated about the number of attackers, “It seems like three students, each with a knife,” “Several people stabbed indiscriminately.” As for the motive, some said it was “students taking revenge on society.”