Violence that drags a stranger along with it.
On the 1st, in Shandong Province, China, a vehicle plowed into a group of dozens of people—including elementary school students—in front of a primary school gate. Footage from the scene shows the aftermath, with over 20 casualties, including both adults and children (seven of whom have died). The 46-year-old driver, who appears to have harbored grievances against society, reportedly ingested insecticide before carrying out the attack.
Could this be a case of “extended suicide” (or an attempted one)?
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Recurring “retaliation against society” incidents in China
Incidents like this one, in which a person who is dissatisfied with society drives his car into a line of passersby, have been repeatedly reported in China in recent years. In November 2024, a 62-year-old man drove his car into a group of citizens exercising at a sports center in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, killing 35 people and injuring 43 others. The motive is said to be dissatisfaction with the division of property following divorce. In the same month, in Changde City, Hunan Province, a man drove his car into a crowd of elementary school students on their way to school, injuring more than 30 people, and was sentenced to death in December 2024 (suspended for two years). In January 2023, a 22-year-old man deliberately plowed his BMW into a line of pedestrians in Guangzhou, killing six people, in a move authorities say was motivated by “retaliation against society.”
Research that analyzes these cases points out that perpetrators often experience multiple forms of exclusion, including exclusion from the market'' due to unemployment or unstable employment, and exclusion from social relationships” due to severance of family and friend relationships. Furthermore, it has been analyzed that there is a tendency to choose indiscriminate acts of violence in public places as “visual violence” to demonstrate one’s existence to society.
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