Teenage cyclists described narrowly escaping a knife-wielding man moments before he was shot dead by police at Tuen Mun Town Plaza on Thursday.
A teenage boy surnamed Yeung said he and a friend, surnamed Kung, were cycling past the plaza when they saw the man waving a knife. Yeung said the man was just "two to three centimeters" away, with the knife passing by his right side as they cycled. "The knife was right beside me. I saw him raise it to slash people," he said. They pedaled away quickly in fear.
Yeung said the man seemed mentally disturbed and silent, "like he was crazy, wanting to slash people with the knife." Kung said she saw the man acting strangely, swinging the sharp knife, and didn't know what to do but immediately pushed her bike and ran. They later returned to see police had subdued the suspect.
Both said if they encounter similar events, they would "run away as soon as they see it from far, not dare to go close."
Another witness, surnamed Chan, was at a Café de Coral nearby when he heard many screams and two suspected gunshots. About half the restaurant's customers rushed out, he said.
Other witnesses said people shouted "slashing" during the chaos, with everyone running toward exits until police subdued the suspect and the scene calmed.
