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A 10-year-old Shanghainese boy has made headlines for all the wrong reasons after a video of him throwing a huge tantrum and threatening to stab someone to death made the rounds on the internet.
Chinese news portals iFeng and Xing Shi Pin reported that the reason behind his outburst was that he was asked to step down from his hoverboard while taking his PCR test.
According to Shanghai Daily, many parts of Shanghai had to undergo mandatory PCR testing last week, due to a rise in Covid-19 cases.
Resentment brewed among residents in the city after they were under a 65-day lockdown which ended on Jun. 1.
What happened
Screenshots uploaded on Chinese portal 163 show that the incident happened in the Yingyuan North housing estate located in Minhang District, Shanghai.
A commenter shared that the boy rode his hoverboard while waiting in line for his PCR test, and was told by staff there that it would disrupt the queue. The staff requested that he leave the hoverboard at home the next time as it was challenging for them to perform the swab while he was standing on it, adding that they would not let him undergo the test in future if he did not comply.
In response, the boy apparently ran home and grabbed a knife before screaming threats, hurling insults and being an all-around spoilt brat for over two minutes.
"I have to hack him to death"
A video circulating online starts off with the boy being restrained by two men wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), while another took a knife away from him.
Video from TikTok
While being restrained, the boy cried as he yelled, "Nobody can stop me! I have to hack him to death!"
After being released, he pointed at a man and demanded to know, "What have I done to warrant this fierce behaviour towards me?"
He ripped off his mask before attempting to punch another man, and was pinned to the floor as he continued to threaten to hit those around him.
Video from TikTok
Video from TikTok
Three adults, who are assumed to be known to him, watched and did nothing as he continued with his tantrum.
"What's the point in continuing to live?"
As if struck by a revelation, the boy finally got up as he yelled, "I'll kill myself once I get home! What's the point in continuing to live?"
He repeated the second line as he grabbed a phone belonging to one of the women near him and threw it on the ground. She nonchalantly picked it up and continued using it.
Video from TikTok
The two other adults -- an elderly man and woman -- stepped in to ask staff to "stop provoking him".
While unintelligible conversation ensued between the staff and the elderly woman, the boy screamed at the elderly man for holding him, and slapped the man when he did not let go.
Video from TikTok
When the older woman tried to intervene, the boy yelled, "I'll beat you to death. Get lost!" while shoving her.
Video from TikTok
The boy was eventually convinced to return home, stepped back on his precious hoverboard and zoomed off — but not before shouting at the person recording the video, "Why the heck are you filming? Is there something wrong with you?"
The video lasted 2 minutes and 35 seconds, and it's not known how long the boy had been kicking up a fuss before it was recorded.
Top screenshots from TikTok