At Least 35 Dead as Man Drives Into Crowd at Sports Center in Southern China

The incident took place a day before Zhuhai City is set to host one of China’s largest civil and military air shows.

A security person stands guard near a sports center where a man rammed a car into people exercising in Zhuhai, China, Nov. 11, 2024. Kyodo News via AP

At least 35 people have died and 43 severely injured after a driver crashed his vehicle into a group of people exercising at a large sports center in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai, local police said on Nov. 12.

Authorities identified the driver as a 62-year-old man whose surname is Fan, in accordance with common practices by Chinese police when releasing information about suspects.

The suspect was arrested at the scene and the investigation is still underway, according to an online statement published by Zhuhai Municipal Public Security Bureau.

The police reported that the incident occurred around 7:48 p.m. local time on Nov. 11, just a day before the opening of the China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, one of the country’s largest civil and military air shows. Chinese authorities typically ramp up police presence and stepped up security measures ahead of such major events.

At the scene, police found that Fan had “severe wounds” to his neck and other parts of his body that appeared to be the result of self-harm. According to the police, he is currently in a coma and undergoing medical treatment, rendering him unable to be questioned at the time.

A preliminary investigation determined that Fan’s motive was likely due to his dissatisfaction with the way financial assets were divided in his recent divorce, police said.

Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping called the incident “extremely bad in nature,” urging relative authorities to heed the lessons from it and “strengthen the prevention and control of risk at the source.”

Footage and photos of the incidents were widely circulated on social media platform X and other overseas platforms. On Chinese social media, however, videos of the incident are heavily censored.

On the evening of Nov. 12, searches for the incident mostly yielded official statements or directives from the CCP leader on the popular social media platform Weibo, without pictures or details of the incident.

Other Violence

Local authorities shut down the Zhuhai Sports Center after the rampage. The center stated in an online statement on Nov. 11 that it will remain closed until further notice.

The incident continues a series of knife attacks that have occurred across the country this year, with several of these incidents targeting children and foreigners.

On Oct. 28, at least five people, including three children, were severely injured in a stabbing incident, according to local police, who identified the suspect as a 50-year-old man surnamed Tang.

That incident occurred less than four weeks after a knife attack at a Walmart supermarket in Shanghai. Police said three people were killed and 15 were injured.

On Sept. 18, a 10-year-old Japanese boy died after being stabbed near a Japanese school in southern China.