Police surround Wong Tai Sin flat after woman reportedly seen with knife in area

Hong Kong police officers were attempting to force their way into a flat at a Wong Tai Sin estate on Sunday night after a woman suspected of carrying a knife and wandering in the area was traced to the home during a search.

Police received a report at about 6.50pm that a woman in her forties carrying a knife had travelled from Diamond Hill MTR station towards the nearby Plaza Hollywood shopping centre.

Officers were deployed to the scene and searched the area.

Members of the Counter Terrorism Response Unit carrying round shields were also seen conducting searches inside the mall, but no suspect was initially found.

The woman was said to have used an eight-inch knife to repeatedly slash at a customer service counter at Diamond Hill station before heading towards Plaza Hollywood.

After reviewing CCTV footage, police later traced the woman to Ching Fai House at Tsz Ching Estate and deployed more than 10 Emergency Unit officers to the scene.

As of 10pm, officers wearing tactical vests and carrying shields were seen standing guard in the block’s lobby.

Officers carrying a battering ram were seen heading upstairs.

Plaza Hollywood was the scene of a fatal knife attack in June 2023, when two women were killed in a brutal assault by a man with a history of mental illness, shocking the city.