Vigil at the site of the car mass murder cleared – DW – November 13, 2024

Authorities in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai on Monday removed memorials and candles for the dozens of victims of a car ramming attack, news outlets reported.

A man drove his car into a crowd at a sports center, killing 35 people and injuring 43 others. It was the deadliest mass killing in China since 2014.

It took more than a day for authorities to release details of the attack. An initial police statement said people had been injured, but no deaths were mentioned, and videos of the attack appeared to have been later removed by online censors.

Tributes for the attack location deleted

Residents ordered delivery drivers to deliver their tributes.

However, according to a report by the Reuters news agency, these were immediately removed by security personnel on site, in some cases even before the tribute could even be placed.

The AFP news agency reported that residents and delivery drivers placed bouquets of flowers at a gate outside the sports complex on Wednesday morning, but within minutes the flowers were carried behind a fence.

The cleaning staff told the AFP news agency that it was an “order from above”.

What is known about the attack?

Details of the attack have leaked and it took the government a day to announce the death toll.

Chinese police have also revealed little information about the 62-year-old attacker, other than to say the man – identified only by his last name, Fan – was upset over his divorce settlement.

He was arrested immediately after the attack as he tried to flee the scene on Monday evening.

State broadcaster CCTV made no mention of the attack in its 30-minute midday newscast, instead citing President Xi Jinping's departure for the APEC summit in Peru.

Other state media, such as China Daily News of Xi's Peru trip was also prominently displayed on a Chinese-language website.

The incident was also not mentioned in the current section of the publication's website or the local page.

kb/wmr (Reuters, AFP, AP)