Police said that a driver deliberately drove into people working out at a sports center in Zhuhai’s southern city, killing 35 and seriously injuring 43 others. A 62-year-old man was detained by police at the Zhuhai sports center after the incident late Monday. The incident occurred on the eve before the People’s Liberation Army’s annual premier aviation show, which is held in Zhuhai.
The police identified the man by his family name Fan, as is the custom in China.
According to a statement, Fan was found in his car with a blade and wounds on his neck that were thought to be caused by self-harm. He was unconscious and was being treated by medical personnel.
According to police, he was not satisfied with the division of his financial assets during the divorce.
The incident was heavily censored due to its timing and location, which were both ahead of a military airshow. Officials only announced the death toll on the next day.
State media reported that one of the four hospitals which treated injured patients had received more than 20 people.
The Chinese authorities have always identified a man by his family name, Fan. According to the police statement, “numerous” pedestrians were struck by the vehicle on Monday evening.
In a Tuesday statement, President Xi Jinping demanded that the driver be punished according to Chinese law.
An employee at Shang Chong Hospital, Zhuhai’s emergency clinic, said that they received a few people who were slightly injured and the majority of them had left after receiving treatment. Zhuhai People’s Hospital confirmed that it had treated injured people, but did not provide a breakdown of the number. The Xiangzhou District People’s Hospital as well as the Third People’s Hospital in Zhuhai did not respond to calls.
Video footage showed a firefighter performing CPR while people were asked to leave the scene on Monday night. These videos were shared by Li Ying, a dissident and news blogger better known as Teacher Li on X. He posts daily news from user-submitted stories. In the videos, dozens of people are lying on their backs on the running track at the sports center. In one video, a woman is heard saying that her “foot was broken.”
On Tuesday morning, the Chinese social media platforms heavily censored searches for information on the incident. Searching on Weibo (similar to X) for the sports center only brought up a handful of posts. Only a few referred to the fact that there had been an incident, but no pictures or other details. The Chinese media had removed articles about the incident that occurred on Monday night.
Chinese internet censors are extra vigilant in scrubbing social media before and during major events such as the National People’s Congress where the government announces major policy initiatives for next year.
The sports center of the city district of Xiangzhou attracts hundreds of residents every week to play soccer, dance, and run on the track. The center closed its doors until further notice after the incident.
In China, there have been several attacks where suspects seem to be targeting random people including schoolchildren. A 50-year-old man was arrested in October after he used a knife on children at a Beijing school. Five people were hurt. Three people were killed in a stabbing attack in September in a Shanghai grocery.