Knife attack in China’s Guangzhou university town leaves multiple people injured

Guangzhou police apprehended a man in the southern Chinese city’s university town district after receiving reports that he was wielding a knife and injuring pedestrians, according to a police statement.

According to an alert by the Panyu district branch of the Guangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau, at about 5.20pm local time, emergency services received calls about multiple stabbings in front of a hotpot restaurant in the district’s Xiaoguwei Island.

The bureau said in a social media post that police promptly arrived and injured individuals were sent to hospital for treatment, with none in life-threatening condition after treatment.

A 35-year-old male suspect surnamed Li was apprehended, and the bureau said the case was under further investigation.

The island is home to a university park complex that includes several major universities.

Earlier on Monday (Sep 14), online posts circulated about a knife attack at Gogo Xintiandi mall in Panyu’s Guangzhou University City, with images circulating of multiple injured individuals along with an image of the presumed assailant wearing a face mask.

Some online posts said that there was more than one attacker, but that information has yet to be verified.

Apparent CCTV footage posted on social media on Monday showed a man clad in black stabbing a woman in the face in a split second as he passed by her inside a shopping centre.

Other videos showed the same woman later sitting on the ground, being comforted by passers-by.

Another series of graphic videos appeared to show the aftermath of another attack on an older woman, seen sitting outdoors covered in blood with a knife in her face, screaming for help.

The knife-wielding suspect appeared to target the victim’s face and eyes.

Footage was also posted of a police unit rushing into a shopping centre, as well as what appeared to be the officers apprehending a suspect inside the centre.

Some videos posted of the event were removed from Chinese social media platforms, but others posted to Western platforms have remained visible.