Residents have been laying flowers, lighting candles and saying prayers for the victims of a car attack in Zhuhai that left 35 people dead and 43 injured.
Footage obtained by the South China Morning Post showed mourners paying tribute to those who lost their lives when a car ploughed in a crowd outside the Zhuhai Sports Centre on Monday night. The centre is just a few kilometres from central Macao.
A 62-year-old man named Fan, who is currently hospitalised in a coma as a result of self-inflicted injuries, has been arrested in connection with the attack. In a statement published yesterday, the Zhuhai Public Security Bureau said Fan was distressed when a divorce settlement did not go in his favour, and that he was arrested while attempting to flee the scene.
The tragedy has prompted President Xi Jinping to urge local authorities to “take lessons” and work to improve the handling of civil disputes. A central government task force has been dispatched to Zhuhai to handle the response to the incident.
According to reports published by Chinese state media, Xi is also urging for “all-out efforts” to assist those injured in the act of random violence, which is thought to be the deadliest of its kind in mainland China in decades.
[See more: Death toll in Zhuhai car rampage rises to 35]
Chinese Premier Li Qiang also echoed Xi’s remarks, calling for the details of the case to be investigated swiftly.
The vehicle-ramming incident follows a number of other violent attacks that have taken place in recent months, including the fatal stabbing of a 10-year old Japanese boy in Shenzhen in September, and the stabbing of multiple people in separate incidents in Beijing and Guangzhou last month.
In 2021, a Chinese man who was incensed over an unsuccessful investment, rammed his car into pedestrians crossing a road in Dalian, resulting in five deaths. The man was executed in early 2023.
The latest vehicle attack took place the day before the start of the China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai.
The event features hundreds of companies and will see delegates from more than 47 countries in attendance.
