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Heroes of Guangzhou Knife Attack: Migrant with Rod, Officials with Guns [UPDATED]

Posted: 05/8/2014 6:22 pm
knife attack suspect shan hero guangzhou railway station

Hero Shan is shown in the middle, and the attacker depicted at left. The armed officials have not shown up yet.

When calamity and chaos strike, it is the heroes that step forward and distinguish themselves by their actions. It is in the nature of a hero to act because the one defining characteristic they all share is that a hero serves.

On the morning of May 6, a man began to indiscriminately attack passengers leaving the Guangzhou Railway Station with a long bladed knife, causing non life-threatening injuries to six people before being shot and detained by police. And it’s because of heroes like Shan that the situation didn’t get any worse.

READ: Suspect Acted Alone in Knife Attack at Guangzhou Railway Station

Mr Shan is a 42 year-old migrant all the way from Heilongjiang Province. After arriving in Guangzhou at 11am, he unexpectedly became caught up in the knifing incident as he was leaving the plaza.

Shan was very fortunate when the backpack he was wearing helped deflect some of the slashes made at him by the knife-wielding attacker, and as a result only suffered minor injuries.

Shan told his story to the Southern Metropolis Daily. ”I picked up a wooden rod that had been left on the ground by other passengers to confront the attacker,” he said. “More people would have been stabbed if I hadn’t done that, because the attacker stabbed everyone he met like crazy.”

Shan also added, “When the attacker moved, I also moved to block him so that he couldn’t hurt others.”

READ: Eyewitness Accounts Depict Horrors of
Guangzhou Railway Station Attack

As reported by China Daily, Shan said he used the rod to knock away the suspect’s knife before police officers rushed in. This statement contradicts earlier published reports, and if true, signifies that the police had shot an unarmed man.

But that is but one half of the heroic coin that pays for the safety of our society. We also owe a debt of gratitude to the officials that we see in photographs getting the job done.

In the wake of the Guangzhou Railway Station knife attack, Chinese officials got personally involved with the beefing of security at train stations across the country. Reported as having made personal tours of inspection are Fu Zhenghua, vice-minister of the Ministry of Public Security, who visited Beijing Railway Station; vice-minister Liu Yanping, who visited several railway stations in Shanghai; and Huang Baowei, head of the Zhengzhou public security bureau, who made an inspection of rural areas of the city.

RELATED: Knife Attack at Shenzhen North Station Watched by
Crowd of Bystanders

It’s always great to have officials making sure that security is tight, but those wanting an extra layer of security may sleep better knowing that these officials are described as making these inspections while “armed. You know that these guys have all got your back when they’re packing heat.

Meanwhile, the the identity of the sole suspect in this attack has still not yet been revealed to the public. As well, the SCMP confirms an early report that said the suspect loitered at the Guangzhou Railway Station for hours before making the attack as citing a security video that features the suspect in it.

UPDATE May 9, 2014: Our hero gets the recognition he deserves.

heroes guangzhou station attack knifing train Yesterday, Shan Lianbo and Wang Fengwu were both recognized by the city for their heroic deeds in helping police confront the attacker that put six people in hospital. Both men were awarded a “Guangzhou Samaritan Certificate” as well as a RMB 5,000 cash reward.

Photo: Weibo (1)

Haohao

Suspect “Acted Alone” in Knife Attack at Guangzhou Railway Station [UPDATE]

Posted: 05/7/2014 3:55 pm

After initial conflicting reports of multiple attackers that ranged from three to four, the Guangzhou Public Security Bureau has confirmed that there was only one suspect involved in the May 6 knife attack at Guangzhou Railway Station that injured six people.

Police shot and arrested the suspect before noon on Tuesday in the plaza in front of the Guangzhou Railway Station. Police had noticed the crowd of passengers disembarking from the train terminal to be scattering in all directions, and upon investigating, confronted a man wielding a long bladed-knife attacking people in the crowd.

The police report states that after having been given a warning, the suspect was shot.

Six victims, three men and three women, were sent to hospital with injuries of varying degrees of severity. Most sustained only light injuries, but one suffered serious wounds. Currently, victims are described as stable, and none have sustained wounds classified as “non-life threatening“.

Likewise, the suspect is also described as stable and recovering from his wounds.

RELATED: Knife Attack at Shenzhen North Station
Watched by Crowd of Bystanders

Eyewitnesses described the scene as one of chaos and panic. Reports describe one man named Yang who happened to be present at both this knife attack as well as the one that occurred in Kunming.

Despite some reports that state that Guangzhou police confirmed that none of the victims are foreign nationals.

The identity of the suspect has not be revealed to the public. Police said at the time of his arrest, the suspect did not have any identification on him.

Security at other train stations around the country, including Shenzhen, Beijing and Shanghai.

The Guangzhou knife attack is the third attack at a Chinese transportation building in three months. A knife attack on the Kunming Railway Station left 29 dead in March. Last week, the detonation of a bomb killed three (two attackers and one civilian) and wounded 79 people at a train station in Urumqi.

Chinese authorities have blamed those attacks upon religious extremist groups that are carrying out acts of terrorism.

UPDATE: Here’s some recorded footage of video taken at the scene.

[h/t Beijing Cream]

More related stories:
Drunken Man in Guangzhou Goes on Slashing Spree Over Disagreement at Phone Shop 
Farmer Threatens to Attack Schools in Guangzhou, Upset Over Land Grab
Man Attacks Street Cleaner in Shenzhen with Knife, Completely Unprovoked

Photo: Weibo

Haohao

Eyewitness Accounts Depict Horrors of Guangzhou Railway Station Attack

Posted: 05/7/2014 9:17 am

Mr Yang dropped his luggage and ran for his life when he heard a shout break out in the Guangzhou train station that said, “Someone is slashing people. Run!”

Mr Ren, who accompanied Yang on the same train on May 6, even reminded him to bring his luggage, but Yang did not heed his call. For Yang, running for his life was a familiar instinct given this was the second knife attack he has experienced. Yang was also at the Kunming Railway Station during the knife attack that left 29 people dead last March.

Yang managed to escape both attacks safely.

READ: Knife Attack at Guangzhou Railway Station Injures Six [UPDATED]

When interviewed by Nanfang Metroplis Daily afterwards, Yang said: “I don’t know why I am so unfortunate. On that day (of the Kunming attack), I was seeing my friend off at the train station when I heard people saying someone was attacking people. Today, just as I walked out the station, the same thing happened again.” The attack was so traumatic that Yang ran and hid in a branch of the China Post located in the west corner of the station. Yang sat there for two hours before he recovered. “I saw the attacker slash a man’s neck. The man covered the wound with his hands, but it was dripping with blood,” Yang recalled.

The police said six people were injured during the attack that happened before noon on May 6. Eyewitnesses first claimed there were four knife-wielding attackers wearing white clothes and white hats, but police later confirmed there was only one attacker.

(Here is an image of the alleged attacker circulating online; the attacker is standing on the left side.) 

Another witness named Ms Zhou was originally at the station to pick someone up when she saw a man wearing white clothes charge towards a crowd in her direction. She saw the attacker hack at the back of a woman’s neck. Zhou said, “Her long hair was cut off instantly, and I saw the knife cut deep into her neck. I don’t know how the woman is now.”

A porter surnamed Chen said the attacker was still standing when the police fired a shot at his abdomen. “The police asked him to drop his knife, but he refused and charged towards the police, wielding his weapon. Another porter tripped him from behind, and he eventually fell on the ground. Three policemen made the arrest,” Chen said.

The identity of the attacker is currently unknown; the suspect was not carrying any identification at the time of arrest.

The Guangzhou attack was the third attack at a Chinese train station in recent history. The Kunming knife attack took place in March, and an explosion happened last week at a train station in Urumqi, Xinjiang. During that incident, the detonation of a bomb killed three (two attackers and one civilian) and wounded 79 people.

Home page credit: Guangzhou Daily 

Haohao

Knife Attack at Guangzhou Train Station Injures Six People [UPDATED]

Posted: 05/6/2014 2:27 pm

knife attack train station guangzhou A knife attack at Guangzhou Railway Station has left six people injured, reports the SCMP.

The attack occurred Tuesday morning at around 11:30am. A police officer present at the scene shot and subdued one of the attackers. Other attackers are reported to have fled the scene.

Eyewitnesses at the scene say the attack happened after the K366 train from Kunming arrived at the station. At that time, a group of young people people wearing white shirts, pants and hats began to indiscriminately attack passerbys using knives with blades half a meter long.

The station is currently shut down, and train passengers occupying it have left the building.

We will update as details come in.knife attack train station guangzhouknife attack train station guangzhouknife attack train station guangzhouknife attack train station guangzhou

UPDATE 1, May 6, 2014 2:47pm: The People’s Daily Online reports two knife-wielding assailants started their attack in front of the post office in the plaza of the Guangzhou Railway Station. Attacked were four people just leaving the station, two men and two women, of whom one sustained a neck injury.

The entrances to the Guangzhou Railway Station are now open, which has resumed normal operations again.

Four of the victims have been taken to the Guangzhou Military District Hospital, and are in stable condition. Guangzhou Party Council Secretary Wan Qingliang and mayor Chen Jianhua have gone to the hospital to visit them.
knife attack update guangzhou railway station

knife attack update guangzhou railway station

knife attack update guangzhou railway stationknife attack update guangzhou railway station

UPDATE 2, May 6, 2014 3:11pm: People’s Daily Online reports eyewitness accounts from taxi drivers who stated the suspects were squatting nearby the taxi stand for a period of two hours. Suddenly, the suspects stood up and took out knives from their bags that were concealed by their clothes. Not ten meters away from where they had been waiting, the suspects attacked baggage handlers and train passengers before heading off towards the center of the plaza. Police reportedly arrived on the scene one minute later.

UPDATE 3, May 6, 2014 3:37pm: Chinanews reports one of the victims is a Miss Liu Yuying, from Baotou, Inner Mongolia. Liu is on a group tour with her brother and sister and about to take a picture upon exiting the train station when a knife-wielding attacker charged towards them. In trying to escape, Liu fell down and tore her left knee. She is currently being treated at the Guangzhou military hospital.

The Southern Capital Report reported a Mr Yang as being a person with the distinction of having witnessed the March 1 Kunming railway attack as well as this one that happened today. Mr Yang had taken the K366 train that just arrived from Kunming when the attacks happened.

UPDATE 4, May 6, 2014 6:26pm: Caijing reports eyewitnesses having seen three attackers at the scene.

A fight that occurred on the second tier of the overpass at Huanshizhong Road in Yuexiu District and left behind a piece of bloody clothing has been confirmed as not related to the incident at the railway station. Previous reports stating an additional arrest has been made are now confirmed false.

Shenzhen security at the Luohu Railway Station, Luohu Port, and Luohu Metro Station have all been increased dramatically with armed guardsknife attack guangzhou

UPDATE 5, May 6, 2014 6:51pm: People’s Daily Online reports the Guangzhou Public Security Bureau as saying there was only one person involved in the knife attack that took place at the Guangzhou Railway Station, and not the multiple attackers previously reported. This same person is the one shot and detained by police, and is currently receiving medical treatment.

Photos: Weibo (12, 3, 4, 5, 6)

Related:
Knife Attack at Shenzhen North Station Watched by Crowd of Bystanders

Haohao

Guangzhou upgrades security in wake of Kunming killing rampage

Posted: 03/4/2014 9:11 am

Americans will be the first to testify that terrorist attacks can have far reaching implications on security checks nationwide. To date, China has been blissfully free of the invasive security now deployed at US airports and other monuments, but that may be changing in light of the deadly terrorist attack over the weekend in Kunming. The deadly violence at Kunming Train Station has stirred up fears that acts of terrorism, which used to be mostly confined to Xinjiang, are now starting to ripple across the country, Caijing wrote.

Guangzhou is among the first cities to take action. It is upgrading security at its main train stations, shopping centers and at Baiyun Airport following the attack in Kunming which left 29 people dead and more than 140 severely injured, Yangcheng Evening News reported on March 3.

Guangzhou’s Yuexiu police department has stepped up security forces along Beijing Road, a popular shopping street in the city, and sent out fully armed police officers at the entrance of the street, the report said.

More police officers have been dispatched to Guangzhou’s main train station, in ticketing areas and along platforms. Meanwhile, the city’s airport also tightened up its security checks. Each person entering the airport must now go through strict body checks for bombs and other dangerous materials, one person surnamed Huang told the newspaper.

Densely-populated areas including Guangzhou Library, Guangzhou No. 2 Children’s Palace and Tianhe Cheng are also seeing increased security after the Kunming attack. Other cities in Guangdong including Shaoguan and Shanwei have also tightened up security checks in stations, schools and hospitals, the report added.

On Saturday, knife-wielding attackers in black rushed into a railway station in Kunming in southwest Yunnan Province and stabbed people indiscriminately. Xinjiang separatist forces were blamed for the terrorist attack, according to the government, although no group has taken responsibility. As of the writing, state news agency Xinhua has announced the attackers who survived a police onslaught have been captured.

Home page photo credit: Yangcheng Evening News

 

Haohao

Watch: Woman in GZ celebrates like a lunatic after buying train ticket home

Posted: 01/17/2014 11:03 pm

In case you haven’t noticed, the rush to buy train tickets ahead of the Spring Festival travel rush is somewhat competitive. Those who do succeed are entitled to a not entirely dignified celebration.

One such person was a lady in Guangzhou who this week got her hands on a ticket back to her native Changsha for the New Year. Watch here her celebration, courtesy of Shanxi Television:

After she was finished lying on her back and kicking the air like a yogi, she began to take her clothes off. But security staff were on hand to stop her before she caused too much of a scene.

Haohao
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