Workers in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai removed flowers and candles early Wednesday from a makeshift memorial to 35 people killed when a man drove a car into a crowd in one of the country's deadliest mass-casualty events in years. On Monday, a 62-year-old man surnamed Fan ploughed a small SUV through a gate to a sports complex and into crowds of people as they exercised on the roads inside, according to police. An initial police statement said people had been injured but did not mention any deaths, and videos of the attack later appeared to be scrubbed from China's tightly controlled social media platforms.
As of Wednesday morning, the rampage had left 35 people dead and 43 with injuries not deemed life-threatening, according to state media reports. Police said Fan was apprehended at the scene but was in a coma after inflicting injuries to his neck and elsewhere with a knife, preventing them from interrogating him. But the force said preliminary enquiries suggested the attack was "triggered by (Fan's) dissatisfaction with the division of property following his divorce".
AFP reporters on the scene Tuesday night saw delivery drivers placing online orders of flower bouquets beside flickering candles to commemorate the victims. In the early hours of Wednesday, cleaning staff cleared away the memorial, with some telling AFP they were acting on an "order from the top". A handful of people closer to where the attack took place were blocked from taking videos by a police car a.