A 24-year-old man in Henan Province has been apprehended in connection with a fatal bus attack on Monday that left three children dead and 12 people wounded.
The violence took place on a commuter bus traveling from Anyang to Beiguo with 33 passengers on board. A knife-wielding man was reportedly upset following a domestic dispute, and attacked numerous people on the bus, killing a 10-month-old baby, and two boys aged 10 and 17.
The suspect, Zhou Jiangbo, was handed over to the police by local residents on Tuesday, and still had bloodstains on his clothes, the state-run China News Service reported.
Zhou had apparently attempted to grab the driver’s wheel, stabbing him in the arm, and causing the bus to hit a truck, according to the Global Times, an official media outlet. However, the driver was able to pull over and open the doors, allowing the passengers to exit the vehicle.
China National Radio reported that five of those injured are still in a critical condition, and a young woman could be paralyzed from the waist downwards.
In June, a bus was set on fire in Fujian Province, killing 48 people and injuring 34.
Public security expert Wang Hongwei at the Renmin University of China told the Global Times these should not be regarded as isolated incidents. “Such extreme violence should not be ignored as most cases reflect social problems.”
Several Internet users responded to a Southern Weekly report on the story via their Sina Weibo microblogs.
“These extreme cases happen so frequently,” wrote a Hebei netizen. “Apart from personal issues, it also has something to do with the social pressure which goes up daily.”
A netizen from Guangdong said: “It is social injustice that caused this to happen. It won’t be the last time.”
