On the eve of the opening of the Zhuhai Air Show, a tragic incident of a car ramming into pedestrians as an act of retaliation outside the Zhuhai Sports Center has resulted in at least 35 deaths and 43 injuries, shocking the nation. In recent days, citizens have spontaneously come to the Zhuhai Sports Center to light candles and offer flowers in mourning. However, these floral tributes have been taken away by the staff, leading to questioning and discontent.
Several citizens interviewed while laying flowers expressed their confusion over why the floral tributes were being removed. They believe offering flowers is a way to show sympathy for the families of the deceased, questioning why there can’t be a bit of warmth and compassion in the city.
Reports also indicate that there were at least a dozen plainclothes police officers outside the Zhuhai Sports Center, preventing the media from approaching the main gate. Even from a distance, plainclothes officers would use large black umbrellas to obstruct any filming.
On the evening of November 11, the 62-year-old driver, Fan Mou, drove a small SUV forcefully through the gates into the Zhuhai Sports Center, ramming into citizens exercising on the internal roads. Multiple victims fell to the ground. Official reports state that the incident resulted in 35 deaths and 43 injured individuals hospitalized.
Fan Mou, who had premeditated the act of ramming into people before fleeing in a car, was subdued. He was found self-harming with a knife in the vehicle and subsequently taken to the hospital. Fan Mou fell into a coma after sustaining severe injuries to his neck and other parts of his body from self-harm.
According to reports, in recent years, Fan Mou had been involved in property division disputes with his ex-wife after their divorce, leading to civil lawsuits filed in grassroots courts and intermediate courts. Disagreeing with the court rulings, Fan Mou filed for a retrial. Currently, the case is under retrial proceedings.
Following this major incident, the British Broadcasting Corporation reported that the initial response of the Chinese Communist government was to block information. When a BBC reporter arrived at the scene, they were grabbed and pushed by an unidentified male. A woman loudly exclaimed, “Look, foreigners, foreigners.” The reporter wrote, “To be honest, these actions will not prevent reporting but rather tarnish China’s image further.”
An eyewitness account from Mr. Chen, a Zhuhai resident in his forties, which had been deleted on Chinese networks but circulated overseas, described the tragic event. Chen, a member of a hiking group, happened to be at the sports center that night. Six hiking groups comprising over 300 individuals from various professions, mostly living nearby and coming to exercise at night, were present. Around 8 p.m., a white sedan suddenly sped into the crowd. Chen jumped to the greenery on the side and witnessed several injuries within his group, with some having broken limbs and others coughing up blood, making the scene horrifying. “There were seven to eight immediate fatalities in the group,” he recounted.
After the incident, Chinese President Xi Jinping condemned the case as “extremely heinous” and called for strict measures to prevent extreme incidents and safeguard societal stability. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang also urged effective handling of risks, hazards, social conflict detection, and resolution to ensure overall social stability.
The highly anticipated Zhuhai Air Show opened on November 12, drawing attention as such a significant and violent incident occurred in the same city, prompting external scrutiny.
China has witnessed several serious acts of violence in recent months. In July, a vehicle ramming pedestrians incident in Changsha resulted in eight deaths. In October, a man carried out a knife attack in a Shanghai mall, killing three on the spot and injuring 15. In September, a Japanese child was killed while en route to school in Shenzhen, about 155 kilometers from Zhuhai, sparking strong reactions in Japan.
Following the vehicular assault in Zhuhai, the Japanese Consulate General in Guangzhou issued a warning on Tuesday, noting the recent spate of violent incidents in China. They advised Japanese individuals to be cautious of their surroundings and behavior when interacting with Chinese people, avoid going out alone at night, refrain from speaking loudly in Japanese even during the day, and to be particularly vigilant in crowded areas when going out.