China | Ramming car attack leaves 35 dead and dozens injured

(Beijing) Thirty-five people were killed and 43 injured after a car rammed into people playing sports near a stadium Monday evening in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai, local police said Tuesday.

The authorities reported on Monday that a car had hit pedestrians in Zhuhai, but the police then only reported injuries, and videos of the tragedy were subsequently removed from social networks.

On Tuesday, police announced that a “serious and vicious attack” took place at the Zhuhai Sports Center, leaving 35 people dead and 43 injured. The vital prognosis of the injured is not compromised, she said.

A 62-year-old man named Fan drove an SUV through the stadium gate, “forced his way into the city’s sports center and crashed into people who were exercising,” the statement said. the police said in a press release on Tuesday.

The driver was arrested while he was stabbing himself with a knife “and was sent to hospital for treatment”, according to the same source.

He is in a coma after injuring his neck and “is not in a condition to be questioned”, the police added.

Initial elements of the investigation suggest that the man may have committed his act because of “his dissatisfaction with the division of property following his divorce”.

Images broadcast Monday evening, geolocated by AFP, showed people lying motionless on the ground, while witnesses tried to revive other victims.

According to a witness named Chen, cited by the magazine Caixinthe track which goes around the stadium was busy every evening with people running or walking.

Another witness, named Liu, said the vehicle was circling, presumably in an attempt to hit as many people as possible.

“People were injured in all areas of the race track: east, south, west and north,” he said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping asked that “everything necessary” be done to treat the injured, and wanted the perpetrator to be “punished in accordance with the law”.

The most important Chinese civil and military air show is currently taking place in the same city.

Blood donation

According to videos posted on the Chinese social network Xiaohongshu, residents of Zhuhai lined up in front of establishments to donate blood.

Near the stadium, where police prohibited anyone from filming, flowers and candles were left.

Several Internet users expressed their shock on this network at the number of victims.

“Last night, after work, when I watched the news, there was no mention of that many victims,” one wrote, commenting on a photo from the police press release. And “tonight I suddenly see this number – so many families affected.”

The country has seen a series of violent attacks in recent months.

A man killed three people and injured 15 in a stabbing attack at a Shanghai supermarket in October.

In September, a Japanese schoolboy was stabbed in the southern city of Shenzhen and died of his injuries, sparking a strong reaction from Tokyo. Shenzhen is approximately 155 km from Zhuhai by road.

And in July, a vehicle drove into passers-by in the city of Changsha (Center), killing eight people.

Relations between Japan and China tend to deteriorate as Beijing strengthens its military capacity in the region and Japan strengthens its security ties with the United States and its allies.

It is in this context that the Japanese Embassy in China has warned Japanese nationals, asking them to “refrain from speaking loudly in Japanese and to avoid any provocative or attention-grabbing behavior, such as constituting noisy groups.”

She said there were no reports of Japanese citizens being injured.