E-Paper
China: Driver who killed 35 after ramming car into crowd ‘was upset over divorce’
The 62-year-old driver, who was upset over his divorce, rammed his car into a crowd in China's Zhuhai and killed 35 people, injuring dozens of others.
The Chinese man, who rammed his car into the crowd at a sports complex killing 35 people and injuring dozens of others in Zhuhai on Monday night, was upset over his divorce and was mentally disturbed, police said.
Police detained the 62-year-old man, who is being treated for wounds thought to be self-inflicted, shortly after the attack. Horrific visuals from the incident surfaced on social media after the car ploughed into the crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center.
Videos circulated on social media platform X showed dozens of people lying on the track at the sports complex, which is regularly used by hundreds of residents to run, play soccer or dance.
In one, shared by news blogger and dissident Li Ying, a woman says “my foot is broken.” That same video showed a firefighter performing CPR on a person, as others were told to leave. Li, who is known on X as Teacher Li, posts daily news based on user submissions.
Read more: Knife attack in South China hospital leaves 2 dead, 21 wounded
Details of those who were killed have not been disclosed by authorities yet, and searches for what happened were heavily censored for users behind China's Great Firewall as the city of Zhuhai is hosting the People’s Liberation Army's aviation exhibition.
The man - identified as Mr Fan - is currently in a coma and is being treated for his wounds. Eyewitnesses said that his attack seemed deliberate and planned, as he ran his car on the running track mowing down joggers, reported BBC.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the local police said said their initial investigations suggested Mr Fan's actions were triggered by a property dispute following his divorce.
China has seen a number of attacks in which suspects appear to target members of the public at random. This may be the deadliest act of random public violence that China has witnessed in over a decade.
In October, a man was detained after he allegedly attacked children with a knife at a school in Beijing. Five people were wounded. In September, three people were killed in a knife attack in a Shanghai supermarket, and 15 others were injured.
(With inputs from Reuters)
