China executes 2 after back-to-back mass killings that shook the nation

Name: Survivor describes sound ‘like an earthquake’ before deadly Zhuhai car attack
Uploaded: 2025-01-20T07:15:38.000Z
Duration: 2 min 41 s
Description: Survivor describes sound ‘like an earthquake’ before deadly Zhuhai car attack

Fan Weiqiu, 62, and Xu Jiajin, 21, were convicted of carrying out deadly public attacks that investigators attributed to personal problems

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People burn incense near floral tributes placed outside a sports centre on November 12, the day after a deadly hit-and-run attack in Zhuhai, southern China. Photo: Reuters

Xinlu Liangin Beijing

Published: 3:15pm, 20 Jan 2025Updated: 9:19pm, 20 Jan 2025

China has executed two men placed on death row after separate deadly attacks in the same week in November, according to state news agency Xinhua.

Fan Weiqiu, 62, was convicted of deliberately driving his SUV into a group of people exercising outside a sports centre in Zhuhai on November 11.

The attack killed 35 people and injured 43 others – in an act of public violence that shook the nation.

Days later, on November 16, 21-year-old Xu Jiajin stabbed eight people to death and injured 17 at a college in the eastern province of Jiangsu. Police said Xu, who used to study at the college, had failed his exams and was also angry about the low pay he received as a factory intern.

In Fan’s case, the court in Zhuhai found that his actions had been driven by a broken marriage and dissatisfaction with his life, particularly regarding the division of property after his divorce. He was found guilty of “endangering public safety by dangerous means”.

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Survivor describes sound ‘like an earthquake’ before deadly Zhuhai car attack

The court cited his “despicable” motives, the “heinous” nature of the crime, brutal methods, and the severe consequences and significant social harm caused by his actions.