 |
On Tuesday, mourners gathered at the stadium Deadly Car Attack in Southern China Claims 35 Lives |
Police say that on Monday, a man drove his car into a stadium in Zhuhai, deliberately targeting groups of people exercising on a sports track. The attack also injured 45 others, including elderly people and children.
The driver, identified as 62-year-old Mr. Fan, is believed to have acted out of frustration over a divorce settlement. Authorities detained him as he attempted to flee but reported that he is now in a coma due to self-inflicted injuries.
The incident has ignited national outrage, with President Xi Jinping vowing "severe punishment" for the attacker and calling for "all-out efforts" to aid the injured. While authorities have not yet released information on the victims, mourners began placing flowers and tributes outside the stadium on Tuesday.
The stadium, featuring a running track, was a popular exercise site for locals. Witnesses described the car speeding toward groups of people and driving in circles around the track, injuring people throughout. A witness told *Caixin* magazine that many people were knocked down as the car looped around the track.
According to police, preliminary investigations suggest that the attack stemmed from a property dispute following Mr. Fan’s divorce. However, he has yet to be questioned due to his coma.
Deadliest Random Attack in China in Decades Amid Surge in Violence
This attack may be the deadliest act of random public violence in China in decades. Other violent incidents have occurred this year, including a mass stabbing and firearms attack in Shandong in February that killed at least 21 people. However, reports of that incident were heavily censored by authorities.
Details of Monday’s attack have quickly been restricted online, with videos from the scene removed from social media. Some footage that remains shows dozens of injured people being treated by paramedics and bystanders.
China has seen a series of violent public attacks in recent months. In October, a knife attack at a Beijing school injured five people, and in September, a stabbing at a Shanghai supermarket killed three and injured several others. In a separate incident in September, a 10-year-old Japanese student was fatally stabbed near his school in southern China.
Following the attack, Japan’s embassy advised its nationals in China to avoid speaking Japanese loudly in public. The incident occurred amid heightened security in Zhuhai, where a major military airshow is taking place. The airshow, which features China’s latest warplanes and drones, is located about 40 kilometers from the attack site.
0 Comments