The city of Anqing in nearby Anhui Province was the setting for carnage this past weekend, as a young man’s disillusionment turned quickly to homicidal intention. When it was all over, six people were left dead and a further 14 remained injured in hospital.
At 16:27 on 5 June, police in Anqing were alerted by the public to the unfolding murderous spree. Officers arrived on the scene only 4 minutes later.
There they were able to quickly apprehend the suspect, but despite their swift reaction, it was too late for five people who had already died of stab wounds. A further victim survived until about 8 o’clock in the evening but died from their excessive injuries.
As of midday yesterday, the remaining 14 were still being cared for in hospital, with one critically ill and the others showing stable vitals.
The suspect, surnamed Wu, is a 25 year old unemployed male from Huaining County of Anqing City, reports The Paper.
His motives for the vicious attacks are said to be anger due to his family’s disobedience and pessimism.
Anhui’s top government officials, Provincial Party Secretary, Li Jinbin, and Governor, Wang Qingxian, together with other leaders, wasted no time in demanding that the lives of the wounded be treated as top priority.
The provincial party committee and the provincial government also dispatched a team of medical experts to Anqing overnight to guide the treatment of the wounded.
Anqing in the south of Anhui Province is but little more than an hour by train from Nanjing. Saturday afternoon’s attacks took place on Renmin Lu, a popular downtown shopping and leisure haunt, the equivalent of Zhongshan Nan Lu in Nanjing.
The attacks occurred only a week after the stabbings in Nanjing’s Xinjiekou, in which the assailant also twice ran over his ex wife with a car. With firearms virtually impossible to obtain in China, knives are the weapon of choice for the aggrieved.
