Car-ramming incident in China leaves 35 dead, 43 injured

A man in China has killed 35 people and injured 43 more after ramming his car into a crowd outside a sports complex in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai on Monday night.
The 62-year-old driver, who authorities say is surnamed Fan, “forced his way into the city’s sports center, ramming people who were exercising on the internal roads,” according to a police statement.
Fan was detained and “controlled on the spot” as he attempted to drive away, according to police statements on Tuesday. Fan is currently in a coma at a hospital, receiving treatment for what are thought to be self-inflicted injuries to his neck and other parts of his body.
A preliminary investigation suggests the attack was “triggered by (Fan’s) dissatisfaction with the division of property following his divorce.”
Images and videos of the incident circulated on Chinese social media platform Weibo on Monday night but were quickly censored and taken offline.
One Weibo user expressed discontent about having to wait to learn details of the event saying, “Even in today’s highly connected world, it took over 24 hours to learn about this incident.”
Other users expressed their shock and concern over the incident.
“I don’t know what to say, but I hope this kind of sickness does not spread,” said one Weibo user.
The death toll “makes every pore on my body stand on end,” said another.
Additional angry comments regarding the incident, and a hashtag that mentioned the death count, were removed. Also, articles from Chinese media on Monday night about the incident were taken down.
On X, videos of the tragedy show dozens of people lying on a track at the sports complex, which is often used by hundreds of residents to run, play soccer or dance.
An eyewitness from the incident surnamed Chen told Chinese news magazine Caixin that it was common for groups to take daily walks on the track outside the stadium.
He explained that he had just completed his third lap on Monday when suddenly a car sped at them and knocked down “many people,” but he was able to jump aside.
Another eyewitness with the surname Liu told Caixin that the car “drove in a loop,” adding that “people were hurt in all areas of the running track — east, south, west, and north.”
Hundreds of rescue personnel from Zhuhai city and Guangdong province were deployed to provide emergency treatment for those involved, and more than 300 health care workers from five hospitals worked around the clock to save lives, state media Beijing Daily reported.
According to state news agency Xinhua, Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged “all-out efforts” to treat those who suffered injuries and has “demanded punishing the perpetrator in accordance with the law.”
Xi also called on all local governments “to strengthen prevention and control of risks at the source, strictly prevent extreme cases from occurring, and to resolve conflicts and disputes in a timely manner,” according to Xinhua.
On Tuesday, Chinese police set up barricades outside of the entrance to the sports complex. However, around 30 members of the public left bouquets of flowers and candles by a square just adjacent to the sports center.
The incident occurred amid the People’s Liberation Army’s largest annual airshow, which is taking place in Zhuhai, highlighted by a new stealth jet fighter being displayed for the first time.
While there is no indication that Monday’s ramming is connected to the airshow, this marks the second such incident to take place during a Zhuhai airshow event. In 2008, a similar tragedy unfolded when a man drove a truck into a crowded schoolyard during the event, resulting in at least four deaths and 20 injuries. Police reported that the 2008 attacker acted out of revenge over a traffic dispute.
Violent crime is rare in China due to tight security and strict gun laws. But in recent months there has been a rise in reports of knife attacks in large cities, which has drawn public attention to safety in public spaces.
Some material in this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, and Reuters.