Car Rams Into Crowd in Front of Elementary School: Death Toll May Exceed 10... Speculation of "Random Crime" in China

Chinese Media Outlets Including SCMP Report Incident
Possibility of "Random Crime" Targeting Unspecified Individuals

Another incident has occurred in China where a car rammed into a crowd in front of an elementary school, resulting in multiple casualties.

Car rams into vehicle in front of Chinese elementary school. Photo by Malaysia Kwangmyung Ilbo

According to Chinese-language media such as the South China Morning Post (SCMP) in Hong Kong and the Central News Agency (CNA) in Taiwan on April 24, at around 5:45 p.m. on April 22 (local time), a silver sedan with a local license plate suddenly drove into a crowd in front of Sumeng Elementary School in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China.

The car crashed into people and facilities at the scene before coming to a stop in front of the school’s main gate. The incident occurred during the time when parents were picking up students after school and office workers were leaving work.

Online, there are reports that the death toll may exceed 10, with some claiming that elementary school students and a police officer are among the victims. However, according to the Central News Agency in Taiwan, these details have not yet been officially confirmed.

The SCMP reported that while local police and hospitals have not denied the incident itself, they have not disclosed any further details. On Chinese portals such as Sina Finance, only headlines about the incident are visible, with the body of the articles inaccessible, and Chinese state-run media have not reported on the case.

Locally in China, there is speculation that this may have been a "random crime" targeting unspecified individuals. This is because similar incidents have occurred in succession recently, amid ongoing economic recession and a real estate crisis. Previously, in November last year, a white compact SUV drove into students and parents on their way to school in front of an elementary school in Changde County, Hunan Province, injuring 30 people, including 18 elementary school students. The perpetrator of that vehicle-ramming incident was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve on April 23.

In the same month, a vehicle-ramming incident at a sports center in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province resulted in 78 casualties, and a university stabbing incident in Yixing, Jiangsu Province left 25 casualties. In September last year, a knife attack at a large supermarket in Shanghai left three people dead, and in October, a knife attack in front of an elementary school in Beijing injured five people, including three minors.