BEIJING — In recent months, China has experienced several mass attack incidents, resulting in a rising death toll. The most recent tragedy occurred on Tuesday, when a vehicle struck primary school students as they were arriving for their classes.
These attacks generally involve two main methods: drivers intentionally running over pedestrians or assailants armed with knives attacking victims indiscriminately. Due to strict gun control laws in China, incidents involving firearms are quite infrequent.
According to reports from law enforcement, these assailants often appear to be expressing deep-seated anger and personal grievances, and their victims are usually strangers. Such violent episodes are not new to the country, with previous attacks historically targeting schools and educational institutions. However, the latest uptick in violence has garnered significant attention from both governmental authorities and the public. Below is a summary of several recent incidents.
On November 19, an SUV collided with students at the entrance of Yong’an Elementary School in Changde, a city in Hunan province. The crash also resulted in injuries to a number of adults, as reported by the official Xinhua News Agency. Security personnel and bystanders managed to subdue the driver, who is a 39-year-old man and was subsequently taken into custody. Details surrounding the incident remain limited at this stage.
Just three days prior, on November 16, a knife assault at the Wuxi Vocational Institute of Arts and Technology in Yixing city led to the deaths of eight individuals, alongside 17 injuries. Police apprehended a 21-year-old student responsible for this attack, identifying his motivation as frustration stemming from academic difficulties and dissatisfaction with his internship earnings. The police indicated this served as a catalyst for his violent actions.
On November 11, a tragic incident at a sports complex in Zhuhai city resulted in 35 fatalities and left 43 others injured. Authorities reported that a 62-year-old man, upset about the terms of his divorce, drove his vehicle into a crowd of individuals exercising. After the he committed the act, he attempted to harm himself with a knife while in his car and was later found unconscious from injuries. His dissatisfaction with the financial division of his divorce was cited as the reason behind his actions.
Earlier on October 28, five individuals, including three children, were injured in a knife attack that took place near a primary school in Beijing. The 50-year-old suspect was detained, but no motive has been disclosed.
In October, there was also the tragic case of a 10-year-old Japanese boy who lost his life in a stabbing incident near his school in Shenzhen, a city adjacent to Hong Kong. This incident was a follow-up to a June attack, where a Japanese woman and her child were assaulted at a bus stop for a Japanese school in Suzhou, which is located near Shanghai.
On September 30, a knife attack at a supermarket in Shanghai resulted in three fatalities and left 15 others injured. Authorities arrested a 37-year-old man who reportedly acted out due to unresolved personal financial matters and sought to release his frustrations in this violent manner. The attack occurred just before a weeklong national holiday, heightening its impact.