35 dead after a driver struck a crowd at a sports center in a southern Chinese city

By HUIZHONG WU, Associated Press

BANGKOK (AP) — A driver killed 35 people and seriously injured another 43 when he deliberately drove his car into people training at a sports center in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai, police said Tuesday.

Police had arrested a 62-year-old man at the sports center in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai after the ramming late Monday, on the eve of the country’s most important aviation exhibition by the People’s Liberation Army, held annually in the city.

Police identified the man only by his surname Fan, in line with Chinese authorities’ practice.

Fan was discovered in the car with a knife, with wounds to his neck that were believed to be self-harm, the statement said. He is unconscious and receiving medical care.

According to a preliminary investigation, he was dissatisfied with the division of financial assets in his divorce.

Nearly 24 hours after the crime occurred, it was unclear what the death toll or injuries were. One of four hospitals admitting people for treatment said more than 20 were injured, state media reported Monday. AP reporters’ calls to the city’s hospitals went unanswered or were referred to other hospitals.

On 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 center turned up only a few posts, only a few of which referred to the fact that something had happened, without photos or details. Articles from Chinese media about Monday evening’s incident have been removed.

However, outside China’s Great Firewall, on X, videos were able to circulate. They were shared by news blogger and dissident Li Ying, better known on X as Teacher Li. His account posts daily news based on user submissions. The video footage showed dozens of people lying on the athletics track of the sports center. In one, a woman says, “My foot is broken.” That same video showed a firefighter performing CPR on a person as people were told to leave the scene.

China’s internet censors take extra care to undermine social media before and during major events, such as the National People’s Congress meeting, where the government announces its major policy initiatives for the coming year.

The sports center for the Xiangzhou district regularly attracts hundreds of residents, where they can run on the athletics field, play football and dance. Following the incident, the center announced it would be closed until further notice.

China has seen a number of attacks where suspects appear to target random people, such as schoolchildren.

In October, a 50-year-old man was arrested after allegedly using a knife 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.

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Associated Press reporters Elsie Chen and Didi Tang contributed from Washington, and researcher Yu Bing from Beijing.