Eight individuals lost their lives, and 17 others sustained injuries during a stabbing incident on a college campus in eastern China on Saturday, according to police reports. This attack marks the latest in a series of violent incidents that have unsettled a nation historically accustomed to low levels of violent crime. The incident occurred around 6:30 p.m. at the Wuxi Vocational Institute of Arts and Technology in Yixing, Jiangsu province, as stated by law enforcement.
Verified footage by CNN shows several individuals lying still on the ground, with some surrounded by onlookers, as screams can be heard in the background. Authorities revealed that the suspect, who was apprehended at the scene, was a recent graduate driven by frustrations over “failing (an) exam, not obtaining a graduation certificate, and dissatisfaction with internship pay.” An investigation is currently underway.
This attack adds to a troubling trend of mass casualty events in China, a nation of 1.4 billion people that typically experiences one of the lowest violent crime rates globally, attributed in part to stringent gun control laws and extensive surveillance measures.
On November 11, 2024, an online video, geolocated by CNN, captured the aftermath of a mass hit-and-run incident in Zhuhai, where 35 people were killed when a car drove into a group of individuals exercising, marking the deadliest public attack in China in a decade. Approximately 40 others were injured in that incident. Following the news of this attack, censors quickly removed online videos and moderated discussions on social media platforms.
In October, a 50-year-old man was arrested after a stabbing attack near an elementary school in Beijing resulted in injuries to five individuals, including three children. In September, a knife attack at a suburban supermarket in Shanghai claimed the lives of three people and injured 15 others.
Additionally, in September, a bus collided with a crowd of students and parents outside a school in Tai’an city, Shandong province, resulting in 11 fatalities and 13 injuries. Chinese authorities have not disclosed whether this incident was intentional or accidental. This story has been updated with further information, and reporting by CNN’s Edward Szekeres has contributed to this coverage.
