Several pedestrians were injured when a vehicle plowed through a crowd in front of an elementary school in China’s Hunan province, according to state-run media. The exact number of casualties and the circumstances surrounding the incident remain unclear.
The incident occurred at around 8 a.m. on Tuesday when a white SUV struck several pedestrians, including children, outside Yong’an Primary School in Changde City, state-run Xinhua reported. Videos shared on social media showed multiple victims lying on the ground, while parents and school staff rushed to assist. The condition of the victims has not been confirmed.
The driver of the vehicle, whose identity has not been disclosed, was detained by parents and school security, according to Xinhua. Videos from the scene showed an angry mob pulling the driver out of the SUV. Authorities have not yet disclosed whether the act was deliberate.
This incident adds to a recent pattern of attacks in China, where suspects have used knives or vehicles as weapons.
Last Saturday, a stabbing attack at a vocational school in the eastern city of Wuxi left 8 people dead and 17 others injured. A few days before that, a man drove his car into a crowd at a sports facility in the southern city of Zhuhai, resulting in 35 deaths and 43 injuries, in one of China’s worst vehicle attacks.