35 killed & 43 injured after man, 62, rams SUV into crowd at Zhuhai sports stadium

Residents of Zhuhai, a southern Chinese city, were exercising at a sports stadium at around 7:50pm on Nov. 11 when a compact SUV broke through the gantry and entered the vicinity forcibly.

The SUV then rampaged through the crowd, knocking down many residents along its way.

Injured residents were subsequently rushed to the hospital, and 35 of them have since succumbed to their injuries, according to a Nov. 12 statement issued by the Zhuhai police.

Another 43 residents, who are currently not in life-threatening conditions, have been hospitalised.

Scene caught on camera

The scene of the incident was caught on camera by onlookers, and videos circulated widely on social media.

According to a clip posted on Weibo, the SUV could be seen heading straight into a crowd of people in the stadium without slowing down.

Footage capturing the aftermath of the incident showed many individuals lying on the road, with some of their faces covered in blood.

A firefighter could also be seen performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on one of them.

Driver injured himself after being stopped by police

After his ramming into the crowd, the 62-year-old SUV driver, surnamed Fan, attempted to flee the scene, said Zhuhai police.

When he was stopped by the police officers who arrived at the sports stadium, Fan began injuring himself with a knife in his vehicle.

The police officers subsequently put Fan's actions to a stop and sent him to the hospital for treatment.

According to Zhuhai police, Fan had "fallen into a coma" after "severely injuring his body parts, including his neck".

As such, Fan was unable to answer any questions from the police.

An unhappy divorce

The Zhuhai police also launched an investigation into the incident and collected evidence from the scene, CCTV footage, and witnesses' testimonies.

Based on preliminary investigations, the police believe Fan's motivation stemmed from his dissatisfaction with how he and his ex-wife's property was divided after they divorced.

Police have since detained Fan, and investigations are underway.

Not the first incident

In response to the incident, Chinese President Xi Jinping instructed the relevant authorities to do their best to “treat the injured" and "punish the perpetrator severely" in accordance with the law.

He also directed all relevant agencies in the country to "learn from the incident" and "resolve disputes and conflicts on time" so as to avoid similar incidents from happening again.

This was not the first time a rampage had occurred in China in recent years.

In 2021, a 32-year-old man ran the red light and rammed into pedestrians crossing the road in the northern Chinese city of Dalian after his investment failed, resulting in one death and eight injured people.

Two years later, a 22-year-old man ploughed his BMW SUV into pedestrians at the four-way intersection on Tiyu East Road and Tianhe Road in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province.

His action led to five deaths and 13 injured people.

Top images via Weibo, X