At least 35 people were killed and 43 others were injured after a car plowed into a group of people exercising outside a stadium in Zhuhai, a city in China's Guangdong province, on Monday, local authorities said, the BBC reports.
The 62-year-old driver, whose last name is Fan, allegedly crashed a sports utility vehicle into the Zhuhai Sports Center in what local authorities described as a "serious and vile attack." Chinese media reported that the injured included many elderly people, as well as teenagers and children.
Fan was arrested while trying to escape, police said, and is currently in a coma due to self-harm.
The incident occurred despite increased security in the city, which is hosting a large civilian and military air show, the BBC reports. Police said initial investigations suggest Fanoo's car attack was motivated by dissatisfaction with the outcome of a property settlement after a divorce.
However, the authorities are unable to question him because he is in a coma.
Most of the videos of the incident posted by eyewitnesses had been removed from Chinese social media by internet censors by Tuesday morning, but some footage still circulating showed scores of people lying on the ground being helped by medics and bystanders.
One of the eyewitnesses told Chinese magazine Caixin that at least six groups of people had gathered at the stadium for their regular walks when the incident happened.
An eyewitness said that his group had just completed the third lap around the stadium when a car suddenly headed towards them at high speed, "knocking down many".
"He drove in a circle, and people were injured on all parts of the track - east, south, west and north," another eyewitness told Caixin.
It is not clear whether the incident is related to the high-profile Airshow China air show, which began on Tuesday at a location just 40 kilometers from the stadium. China is displaying its latest warplanes and attack drones at this event, and high-ranking Russian official Sergei Shoigu is expected to attend.
Several entrances and exits to the sports center were closed during the air show for inspection, the center's management announced on Tuesday.
Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed deep concern over the incident, ordering authorities to make every effort to treat the injured and calling for the perpetrator to be severely punished.
In response, the central government sent a task force to help deal with the incident.
The case is under investigation.
In recent months, a number of violent attacks on citizens have been recorded in China.
In September, a man carried out a knife attack at a supermarket in Shanghai, killing three people and injuring several others.
In the same month, a 10-year-old Japanese student died a day after being stabbed near his school in southern China.
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