~ Le Viêt Nam, aujourd'hui. ~
The Vietnam News

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[Year 2002]

Mentally ill man attacks 12 people, killing 7 in northern Vietnam

HANOI - Police are searching for a mentally ill man who stabbed seven people to death and wounded five in a rampage in northern Vietnam. The attack took place Thursday, but was not reported in state-controlled media or confirmed by police until Tuesday.

Police identified the assailant as Nguyen Tai Kiem, 44. They said he had been diagnosed with mental illness a decade ago. He escaped after fatally attacking a man, two women and four children in Bac Me District in Ha Giang province, 370 kilometers (230 miles) northwest of Hanoi, said a provincial policeman under condition of anonymity.

He wounded another three women and their two children, aged 2 months and 7 years. The five were hospitalized in stable condition, he said. The victims were all Dao ethnic minority. Police in Ha Giang and the neighboring province of Tuyen Quang are still hunting for Kiem, the police official said.

The Associated Press - December 24, 2002.