Driver rams his car into crowd in China, killing 35 people. Police say he was angry about his divorce

ZHUHAI, China — A man who authorities say was angry about his divorce settlement rammed his car into a crowd of people exercising at a sports complex in southern China, killing 35 people and seriously injuring dozens of others hit, police said Tuesday.

Police arrested the 62-year-old man, who is being treated for injuries believed to be self-inflicted, shortly after the attack in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai on Monday evening. The city is hosting the People’s Liberation Army’s annual aviation exhibition, which opened on Tuesday, and searches for what happened were heavily censored for users behind China’s Great Firewall.

However, videos circulated outside the controls on the social media platform X. Several showed dozens of people lying on the track at the sports complex, which is regularly used by hundreds of residents to run, play football 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 one person while others were told to leave. Li, known as Teacher Li on X, posts daily news based on user submissions.

In addition to the 35 deaths, 43 were injured, according to police.

The police set up barricades at the entrance to the sports complex on Tuesday, so that people cannot enter. However, the public left bouquets on the square next to the sports center.

China has seen a number of attacks where suspects appear to randomly target members of the public.

In October, a man was arrested after allegedly attacking children with a knife at a school in Beijing. Five people were injured. In September, three people were killed in a knife attack at a Shanghai supermarket and 15 others were injured. Police said at the time that the suspect had personal financial disputes and had come to Shanghai to “vent his anger.”

In May, two people were killed and 21 injured in a knife attack at a hospital in Yunnan province.

Police identified the man held in Monday’s attack only by his surname Fan, as is customary, and said he was unconscious and receiving medical care after being found knifed and injured in his car.

According to a preliminary investigation, he was dissatisfied with the division of financial assets in his divorce.

Chinese authorities appeared to be tightly controlling information about the incident. Internet censors tend to be extra careful about undermining social media before and during major events, such as the aviation exhibition or the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress.

Nearly 24 hours after the attack, it was unclear what the death or injury toll was. A search on Chinese social media platform Weibo for the sports center turned up only a few posts on Tuesday morning, with only a few referring to the fact that something had happened, without photos or details. Chinese media articles from Monday evening about the incident have been removed.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping called for the perpetrator’s “severe” punishment according to the law in a statement on Tuesday evening.

He also called on all local governments “to strengthen the prevention and control of risks at source, strictly prevent extreme cases and resolve conflicts and disputes in a timely manner,” the official Xinhua news agency said.

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Wu reported from Bangkok. Associated Press reporters Elsie Chen and Didi Tang contributed from Washington, and researcher Yu Bing from Beijing.