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Horrific acid attack at NTU dorm leaves 1 dead and 3 wounded

Terrifying acid attack at NTU dorm leaves 1 dead and 3 wounded, with attacker taking his own life with a knife

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CCTV footage of Hsieh (Lt.) fleeing Chang (Rt.).

CCTV footage of Hsieh (Lt.) fleeing Chang (Rt.). (CNA photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- A horrifying acid attack in front of a women's dorm at National Taiwan University (NTU) resulted in one death and three injured just after midnight this morning, reported UDN.

According to a preliminary police investigation, the deceased suspect, a 23-year-old male graduate student at the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (Taiwan Tech) surnamed Chang (張), threw some sort of caustic substance on an NTU Psychology student surnamed Hsieh (謝), he slit his own throat with a knife. As he fell into a pool of his own blood, his body landed on top of the blade.

Chang reportedly brought two bottles carrying some sort of acid with him before approaching Hsieh outside the dormitory to discuss something with him.

The two quickly became engaged in a heated argument and in the process Chang tossed the acid not only on Hsieh, but also on a male student supervisor surnamed Lo (駱) and a female security guard surnamed Ku (谷).

After the apparent acid attack, Hsieh was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment where he is on life support and is "not out of danger," reported multiple media sources. Meanwhile, Lo and Ku suffered only minor injuries which are not life-threatening.

According to Lo, when Chang first arrived, he seemed at ease and at first was only speaking of trivial matters. Ku had admonished Chang to "Go home to resolve private matters, its a bit late now!" In response, Chang said, "give me 10 more minutes." It was then that he pulled out two bottles with red caps containing the caustic substance.

Witnesses said that when Chang took the bottles out, he opened one up and pretended to drink it, apparently to make people think it was some sort of beverage.

Still in a state of shock after the incident, Lo said because Chang pretended to drink the liquid, he let his guard down. Hsieh, on the other hand, sensed danger and asked Chang, "What is that? Don't get near me!"

Chang did not respond to Hsieh's question and started to murmur to himself. As Chang continued to linger, Ku again said, "You should go back!" At this point, Chang suddenly became agitated and said, "I'm very agitated right now, I can't cover it up!"

Ku tried to help him calm down, but Chang ignored her. Unable to control his emotions, Chang tossed the substance on Hsieh, covering his body in burns, which turned his skin black. Lo and Ku also received burns to their arms.

Horrific acid attack at NTU dorm leaves 1 dead and 3 wounded
Police gather evidence. Chang's body is covered on the left side of the photo. (CNA image)

After hearing the news, friends of the three injured rushed to National Taiwan University Hospital. Police are still investigating the details of the incident.

Authorities suspect that the chemical tossed by Chang may be agua regia (王水), a combination of nitric acid and hydrochloric acid that is powerful enough to dissolve gold and platinum.

Horrific acid attack at NTU dorm leaves 1 dead and 3 wounded
Spot where Chang committed suicide. (CNA image)

Horrific acid attack at NTU dorm leaves 1 dead and 3 wounded
Images of bottles which contained acid. (CNA image)

Horrific acid attack at NTU dorm leaves 1 dead and 3 wounded
Knife which Chang used to cut his throat. (CNA image)