In southern China, on Monday, a terrible incident was observed as a man drove his SUV to the crowd of exercising people at the Zhuhai Sports Centre, killing at least 35 and injuring another 43 more.
The driver, a 62-year-old man, identified as Mr. Fan, apparently smashed through the barrier that marks off the stadium’s pavement before driving toward several groups on the running track. As local police described, this was “a serious and vicious attack,” leaving many elderly citizens, teenagers, and children among them badly injured.
Mr. Fan was trying to escape after the attack and was injured in attempting to do so. He has been in coma due to self-inflicted wounds and cannot be questioned yet.
Suspected motive behind the attack is Mr. Fan’s quarrel over a divorced property settlement. Chinese President Xi Jinping demanded all-out efforts to treat the wounded and pledged that the culprit will be severely punished.
China controlled their media social networks with a tight fist, and comprehensive censorship had been done on all the contents associated with the event. It was reported that most of the videos taken by people passing by were deleted, and journalists, as famous as those from the VOP, were asked not to take any more films from the scene. Still, a few pictures and videos are there that have captured all the restlessness alongside the paramedics and bystanders treating the injured people.
The incident has heightened concerns in an already tensed environment as Zhuhai is currently hosting the much-feared high-profile Airshow China, major international military showcase.
At the Zhuhai Sports Centre, some 40 kilometers from the air show venue, authorities had closed some of its entrances for security purposes while the event attracted international delegations, including Russian defense officials.
This attack forms part of a disturbing pattern of violent attacks in China in the last few months. In October, a knife attack in a school in Beijing left five people injured, while in September, a stabbing spree in a supermarket in Shanghai took three lives. Several embassies, including that of Japan, have issued safety alerts to its citizens residing in China due to these events.
The authorities have followed with investigations into the person’s condition while monitoring the driver at the same time and still working to bring clarity and justice to this very disturbing event.
