A hit-and-run attack in Zhuhai, southern China, kills 35 people

BEIJING – A hit-and-run attack on a sports center in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai left 35 people dead and 43 seriously injured, local police said on November 12.

The incident happened on November 11 at 7:48 p.m., when a small all-terrain vehicle crashed into a large group of people who were exercising outside the sports center.

Zhuhai police said in a statement on November 12 that the suspect, a 62-year-old man surnamed Fan, was being treated at a hospital after hurting himself with a knife in his car.

A video of the scene after the attack, verified by Reuters, showed at least 20 people lying on the ground. Cries of “terrorists” could be heard as ambulances arrived to take the injured to hospital.

Fan was apprehended by police at the scene after he tried to flee, police said, adding that he had injured himself with a knife, causing serious neck injuries.

Police said their preliminary investigation suggested the incident was caused by Fan’s dissatisfaction after a divorce.

President Xi Jinping was quoted by Chinese state television CCTV as ordering the utmost in treatment of the injured and demanding harsh punishment for the perpetrator. The central government has sent a team to advise on handling the case, CCTV said.

Violent crime is rare in China, due to tight security and strict gun laws. However, an increase in reports of knife attacks in major cities has drawn public attention to safety in public spaces.

In October, a knife attack in Beijing injured five people outside one of the city’s top primary schools. A month earlier, a Japanese student was fatally stabbed outside his school in Shenzhen.

Zhuhai will host China’s biggest annual air show this week, which will feature a new stealth fighter jet for the first time. REUTERS