Driver runs over dozens of people in China, killing 35 of them

A driver killed 35 people and injured 43 others in southern China, police reported this Tuesday, November 12, a day after the car hit people exercising at a sports center in Zhuhai city.

After the attack was reported on Monday, authorities only said that people were injured, while Videos of the incident appeared to have been removed from social media.

But on Tuesday, police said a “serious and cruel attack” had occurred at the Zhuhai Sports Center, revealing the death toll was 35. The 43 injured people are currently not in life-threatening condition.

Videos from Monday night geolocated by AFP showed people lying motionless on the groundwhile others frantically tried to resuscitate the unconscious.

Preliminary investigations suggested that The 62-year-old driver, surnamed Fan, had been “motivated by (his) dissatisfaction with the division of property after his divorce”the Police said in a statement.

Fan “broke through the gate with a small SUV and made his way into the city’s sports center, ramming people who were exercising on the streets inside the sports center. He was controlled at the scene by police who responded to the scene when he was trying to flee,” the text indicated.

Uniformed officers found Fan in his car cutting himself with a knife, before arresting him and sending him to the hospital. Currently, he is in a coma. after suffering self-inflicted injuries to the neck and other parts of the body and cannot be questioned.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for “all possible efforts” to treat the injured and has “demanded those responsible be punished in accordance with the law,” state news agency Xinhua reported.

Graphic videos circulating on social media on Monday night showed the aftermath of the incident, although most had disappeared by Tuesday.

China’s largest air show, showcasing Beijing’s civil and military aerospace sector, is currently being held in the same city.

On Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, users expressed shock at the death toll. “Last night after work when I saw the news, there weren’t that many people reported,” one user commented on a photo of the police statement released. “Tonight, suddenly, I see this number: so many families affected,” he added.

Videos on the social media platform also showed Zhuhai residents queuing at blood donation centers and hospitals.

In a security alert, Japan’s embassy in China on Tuesday warned its citizens to be on high alert and “refrain from speaking loudly in Japanese and avoid provocative behavior that attracts attention, such as being loud in groups.”

The embassy said it had no information that any Japanese citizens had been injured in the attack.

China has witnessed a series of violent public attacks in recent months. A man killed three people and injured 15 in a knife attack at a supermarket in the Chinese megacity of Shanghai in October.

In September, a Japanese schoolboy was stabbed in the southern city of Shenzhen and died from his injuries, sparking outrage in Tokyo.

In July, police said a vehicle crashed into pedestrians in the central city of Changsha, killing eight.

In 2023, a collision with a crowd of pedestrians, also in the province of Canton, caused 6 deaths and 29 injuries.

The Local press and Internet users usually categorize these episodes as “revenge against society” as they are attacks in which the perpetrator acts against innocent people. motivated by frustration due to legal, sentimental or business disputes.