A driver killed 35 people and injured another 43 when he deliberately rammed his car into a crowd exercising at a sports centre in southern China on Monday, police said.
Officers detained a 62-year-old man at the sports centre in Zhuhai following the incident, which happened on the eve of the country’s premier aviation exhibition by the People’s Liberation Army that is hosted annually in the city.
One of the four hospitals that took in casualties said it had more than 20 injured, state media reported.
Officers identified the man only by his family name of Fan, consistent with the practice by Chinese authorities. The police statement said the vehicle knocked down “a number of” pedestrians on Monday evening.
The driver was discovered in the car with a knife, with wounds to his neck thought to be self-inflicted, according to the statement. He was reported to be unconscious and receiving medical care.
He was dissatisfied with the split of financial assets in his divorce, according to a preliminary investigation, police said.
Videos showed a firefighter performing CPR on one victim, as people were told to leave the scene.
They were shared by news blogger and dissident Li Ying, who is better known on X as Teacher Li. His account posts daily news based on user submissions.
The films showed dozens of people lying on the sports centre’s running track, with a woman in one saying: “My foot is broken.”
By Tuesday morning, searches for the incident on Chinese social media were heavily censored on Chinese social media platforms.
A search on Weibo for the sports centre only turned up a few posts, with only a couple referring to the fact that something had happened, without pictures or details.
Articles by Chinese media about the incident from Monday night were taken down.
Chinese internet censors take extra care to check social media ahead of and during major events, such as the meeting of the National People’s Congress, where the government announces its major policy initiatives for the coming year.
The sports centre for the city district of Xiangzhou regularly attracts hundreds of residents, where they can run on the track field, play soccer and take part in social dances. Following the incident, the centre announced that it would be closed until further notice.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping called for the “strict” punishment of the perpetrator according to law in a statement on Tuesday evening.
He 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 the official Xinhua news agency.
China has seen a number of attacks in which suspects appear to target random people such as schoolchildren.
In October, a 50-year-old man was detained after he allegedly used a knife to attack children at a school in Beijing. Five people were injured.
In September, three people were killed in a knife attack in a Shanghai supermarket.
