Earth Science News
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Man held after crashing car near China school, injuring multiple children
Reuters Events SMR and Advanced Reactor 2025
Man held after crashing car near China school, injuring multiple children
By Mary YANG
Beijing (AFP) Nov 19, 2024

Police said Tuesday a man was in custody after crashing a car outside a primary school in a central Chinese city, injuring multiple children.

China has witnessed a spate of deadly incidents in recent months -- from mass stabbings to car rammings -- a rare development for a country with a proud reputation for public security.

The issue has prompted soul-searching about the state of society, with some despairing about why an increasing number of people seem willing to "take revenge" on random civilians.

Many initial videos of Tuesday's incident already appeared to have been removed from China's tightly controlled social media platforms, echoing other mass casualty events.

State news agency Xinhua reported that "multiple students were injured", while state broadcaster CCTV said the "specific casualties" were still being investigated.

Police in the central city of Changde, home to over five million people, in Hunan province, said the crash took place just before 8:00 am (0000 GMT).

They also said a 39-year-old man surnamed Huang was being held in custody, adding that the injuries sustained by the victims were not life-threatening.

Footage circulating on Chinese social media -- which matched online images of the school -- appeared to show the aftermath of the incident, with dozens of children running in panic away from the site of the crash yelling "help, help".

In one clip, several people including a young child can be seen lying on the ground.

Another showed a bloodied man being hit with sticks by passersby shouting "beat him!" as he lay on the ground next to an SUV.

The crash took place outside Yong'an primary school in Hunan province's Changde.

Asked about the incident, the central government in Beijing declined to give further details.

"The Chinese government has always taken and will continue to take effective measures to ensure people's safety and social stability," foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a regular briefing.

- Spate of deadly incidents -

China has this year seen a string of mass casualty incidents, which some analysts have linked to growing anger and desperation at the country's slowing economy and a sense that society is becoming more stratified.

Beijing's top public prosecutor vowed "zero tolerance for crimes that infringe students' rights and interests and endanger campus safety" at a meeting on Tuesday, according to a post on its official WeChat account.

It also pledged to "make every effort to safeguard the safety of campuses and students".

Tuesday's crash was the third seemingly random outbreak of carnage in just over a week.

Last week a man killed 35 people and wounded more than 40 more when he rammed his car into a crowd in the southern city of Zhuhai -- the country's deadliest attack in a decade.

But authorities took almost 24 hours to release that toll, and videos of the attack later appeared to be scrubbed from social media.

Police said the suspect, surnamed Fan, had been "triggered by... dissatisfaction with the division of property following his divorce".

- 'Revenge on society' -

On Saturday, eight people were killed and 17 wounded in a knife attack at a vocational school in the eastern Chinese city of Yixing.

Police said the suspect was a 21-year-old former student who was meant to graduate this year but had failed his exams.

Tuesday's car crash quickly became one of the most discussed social media topics, racking up tens of millions of views on the Weibo platform.

Many users despaired at the occurrence of another grisly incident involving children.

"How can something like this be happening yet again?" asked one user.

"There have been so many people taking their revenge on society recently," said another.

burs-pfc-oho/je/sco

Weibo

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
A world of storm and tempest
When the Earth Quakes

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
School stampede in China's Xinjiang injures 14; Multiple injured in car crash at central China school
Beijing (AFP) Nov 19, 2024
A stampede at a middle school in China's northwestern Xinjiang region has left 14 people injured, according to local authorities. The incident occurred at around 3:25 pm (7:25 am GMT) on Monday at the No. 8 Middle School in Kashgar, a statement on a social media account affiliated with the city government said. A student fell in front of a door as pupils were moving between a dormitory and a teaching building, "causing a stampede", the statement said, without giving further details. It said ... read more

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
LIST and UNHCR partner to develop emergency early warning system

Senegal navy intercepts almost 1,000 illegal migrants in one month

Americans face an insurability crisis as climate change worsens disasters

Spain royals cheered in flood epicentre after chaotic trip

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Enormous potential for rare Earth elements found in US coal ash

Scientists show how a laser beam can cast a shadow

MIT engineers make converting CO2 into useful products more practical

British Museum secures record 1bn donation of Chinese ceramics

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Parts of Great Barrier Reef suffer highest coral mortality on record

How the Mediterranean lost 70% of its water during a prehistoric crisis

Taps run dry in sprawling suburb of Mauritania's capital

NASA data aids global efforts in combating sea level rise

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Political implications of Antarctic geoengineering debated

Space for Shore project tracks Svalbard glacier changes with Sentinel-1

Tajikistan lost 1,000 glaciers in 3 decades: minister

U.S., Finland and Canada agree to icebreaker collaboration pact

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Defiant Lebanese harvest olives in the shadow of war

Denmark's major parties agree carbon tax on livestock

Olive seeds from space mission begin growth in China

Planet expands partnership with Abelio for enhanced digital farming solutions

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Tropical storm Sara kills four in Honduras and Nicaragua

Burst dike leaves Filipino farmers under water

Magnitude 6.6 quake strikes off Papua New Guinea: USGS

Tropical Storm Sara pounds Honduras with heavy rain

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
UK doubles aid to war-torn Sudan

World not listening to us, laments Kenyan climate scientist at COP29

Madagascar riverbank landslide hits boat, killing 16

French weapons in Sudan 'in violation of UN embargo': Amnesty

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Sitting for extended periods linked to higher cardiovascular risk even in physically active individuals

Iraq holds its first census in nearly 40 years

Swedish app aims to solve household chore disputes

Study shows ancient use of fire to manage Tasmania's environment 41,600 years ago

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.