On May 23, a female student from the Sixth Middle School in Xuchang City, Henan Province, tragically jumped to her death after being physically punished by a teacher. This incident sparked a gathering of a large number of people and students around the campus on May 25, expressing their anger and demanding justice. Emotions ran high as students protested by smashing school property, and those involved were subsequently detained. Currently, classes at the school have been suspended and official information has been restricted.
Local resident Mr. Li, who lives near the Sixth Middle School, shared with a reporter that on May 25, he witnessed the deceased student’s family demanding answers outside the school gate. The surroundings were crowded with people and students, including students from other schools. According to Mr. Li, the students, around sixteen or seventeen years old, took it upon themselves to retaliate for the injustice by smashing the windows of the school’s administrative building.
Mr. Li mentioned that there were at least one to two hundred people present at the scene. The principal did appear but was confronted by parents. The teacher who had mistreated the students, named Zhang, remained inside the school and did not come out. Subsequently, a large number of police officers arrived and arrested the students involved in the vandalism, dispersing the crowd.
A student named Zhao Yong (pseudonym) who was at the scene stated that he learned about the incident from friends and arrived at the Sixth Middle School in the evening of May 25. At that time, there were many people gathered around the school. Family members held up signs with the girl’s photo, labeled with the word “injustice.” Many students from other schools were present, displaying heightened emotions and smashing the windows of the school’s administrative building.
According to Zhao Yong, “They smashed the offices, making the building look like a wreck. They broke the windows from the outside and then pulled out things from inside to continue smashing.”
Zhao Yong left the scene around 7 p.m. that evening. He mentioned that two police cars arrived, and the students who vandalized the building were taken away by the police. He managed to avoid being caught.
Following the incident, authorities restricted the spread of information, with online videos being deleted. At the time the report was filed, there had been no official announcement from the authorities. Attempts to contact the school via phone were unsuccessful.
Local sources identified the deceased student as Wu Yijia, a seventh grader in Class 6, who came from a divorced family. Described as pretty with a good reputation among peers, she had apparently been targeted by her homeroom teacher surnamed Zhang. Zhao Yong mentioned that it was jealousy from the teacher that led to the bullying, which included verbal abuse, standing punishments, exclusion from classes for a whole day, and even forced running exercises. Unable to bear the mistreatment, Wu Yijia tragically jumped from the 16th floor of her residence on May 23.
The cousin of Wu Yijia, speaking on the X platform of “Yesterday,” revealed that the prolonged abuse caused Wu Yijia to display signs of severe depression. Wu had pleaded with her mother, who resided in another city, to transfer schools. On May 23, following three consecutive days of standing punishments, Wu Yijia took her own life by jumping from the 16th floor of her apartment.
However, a self-proclaimed “internal staff member” of the school posted online, denying that the teacher had physically punished Wu Yijia. The individual also claimed that on the day of the incident, the female student had a heated argument with her mother over the phone using the teacher’s phone.
On the morning of May 26, Wu Yijia’s father seemingly released a video statement under local government pressure, stating that the cause of the incident had been clarified, and the relevant departments had taken appropriate actions. He expressed gratitude for the concern shown and urged people not to continue discussing the matter online.
In reality, no official handling of the incident was disclosed by the authorities. Some members of the public noted, “We don’t know the outcome of this incident as there is no official notice. We have to wait for further instructions as the authorities are trying to manage the situation.”
On May 26, the school’s entrance was heavily guarded by special police forces, preventing people from approaching, and classes were suspended throughout the entire school.