What happened next remains unclear but Chinese media claimed he slashed the woman and also wounded the man. Photographs and videos of the aftermath of the attack show the alleged perpetrator strolling outside the Uniqlo store armed with what appears to be a samurai katana sword.
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As police approached him, he simply placed his sword on the ground and lay down on his stomach.
[Updated 8/13 4.35pm] An official Beijing Public Security Bureau statement released via Weibo just after 3.20pm has indicated that the woman attacked has died from her injuries.
China’s government has grown increasingly anxious about knife and other violent attacks, and has in the past restricted sales of knives in areas it considers to be sensitive.
A man, said to be in his 20s, chased the woman towards a Uniqlo store in front of the Tai Koo Mall and stabbed her with a meter-long sword.
The suspected attacker was arrested a short time later after voluntarily lying on the ground as police arrived at the scene at around midday local time.
[Updated 8/13 2.10pm] It appears that the foreign male that was helping the female victim was also injured.
A woman is seen laying on the floor with blood in Beijing.
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Pedestrians rushed into nearby stores for safety after the attack, the newspaper report said.
