Nanping school massacre

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Nanping school massacre
Nanping's location (in orange) in Fujian Province
LocationNanping, People's Republic of China
Date23 March 2010
circa 7:20 am – (UTC+8)
Attack type
Deaths8
Injured5
PerpetratorZheng Minsheng

The Nanping school massacre/stabbings (Chinese: 福建南平校园惨案) occurred at Nanping City Experimental Elementary School in the city of Nanping, Fujian Province, People's Republic of China, in which a man used a knife to kill eight children and seriously wound five others.[1] The incident occurred on 23 March 2010, around 7:20 am local time.[2] It was the first incident in a string of school attacks in China. The perpetrator later confessed to the crime, telling police investigators that "life was meaningless".

Incident and casualties[edit]

The children were attacked outside the gates by a man as they were arriving for school at 7:20 am local time (UTC+8).[3] (Before the attacks, it was the school's practice to keep the gates shut until school began at 7:30 am)[4] The perpetrator was subdued on the scene by three adults.[5] Of the eight fatalities, six died at the scene and the other two later in hospital.[6] The deceased were four boys and four girls.[7]

The school, which at the time had around 2,000 students,[8] closed for the day on 23 March before reopening the following day.[9]

Perpetrator[edit]

Zheng Minsheng
Zheng in custody
Born30 April 1968
Died28 April 2010 (aged 41)
Criminal statusExecuted
Criminal penaltyExecution by firing squad
Date apprehended
23 March 2010

Zheng Minsheng (30 April 1968[10] – 28 April 2010) who had previously worked as a community doctor, was arrested.[11] The Associated Press reported that, according to a Nanping city government official who refused to be named, Zheng had a history of mental health issues.[12] Zheng later told police that he thought life was meaningless,[7] and confessed to the crime.[13] He was charged with intentional homicide by the province's procuratorate.[14]

At the trial, police stated that Zheng had no history of mental illness, contradicting earlier reports. Zheng said that he committed the attack after being turned down by a girl and suffering "unfair treatment" from the girl's wealthy family. He was found guilty and sentenced to death on 8 April 2010.[15] Zheng was executed by shooting twenty days later.[16]

Victims[edit]

Names of those killed during the massacre in English and Chinese, along with the grade they were in:

  • Ke Cuiting (柯翠婷), grade one
  • Chen Chuning (陈楚柠), grade one
  • Ouyang Yuhao (欧阳宇豪), grade one
  • Huang Shujie (黄舒婕), grade one
  • Peng Fei (彭飞), grade two
  • Chen Jiahui (陈佳慧), grade three
  • Zhou Yuxiao (周雨笑), grade four
  • Hou Chuanjie (侯传杰), grade four

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Man fatally stabs 8 schoolchildren in China". CNN International. 23 March 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
  2. ^ Macartney, Jane (24 March 2010). "Eight children die in Chinese primary school massacre". The Times. London, UK. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
  3. ^ "Chinese doctor hacks eight schoolchildren to death". AFP. Agence France-Presse. 23 March 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
  4. ^ Juan, Shan; Zhu Xingxin (25 March 2010). "Society Therapists seek to heal devastated children". China Daily. Retrieved 26 March 2010.
  5. ^ Demick, Barbara (March 23, 2010). "Man stabs, kills 8 children outside school in China". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
  6. ^ "Man Kills 8 at Chinese School". Time. 24 March 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2010.[dead link]
  7. ^ a b Chang, Anita (25 March 2010). "Life 'meaningless' for China school attack suspect". The Associated Press. Retrieved 26 March 2010.
  8. ^ Zhi, Lin (23 March 2010). "Man kills eight children at east China school, suspect arrested". Xinhua. Archived from the original on March 26, 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
  9. ^ "Classes resume after man stab eight students to death in east China". Xinhua. 24 March 2010. Archived from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
  10. ^ 郑民生:走上55秒杀戮之路, sxgov.cn (April 2, 2010)
  11. ^ Fairclough, Gordon (23 March 2010). "Eight China Students Stabbed to Death". The Wall Street Journal. New York: Dow Jones and Company. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
  12. ^ Bodeen, Christopher (24 March 2010). "8 children stabbed to death at Chinese school". The Associated Press. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
  13. ^ Jingqiong, Wang (26 March 2010). "Society School killer wanted to take revenge on society". China Daily. Retrieved 26 March 2010.
  14. ^ "Procuratorate nods arrest of man killing 8 kids". Xinhua. 24 March 2010. Retrieved 26 March 2010.
  15. ^ "Man sentenced to death over China school stabbings". BBC News. 2010-04-08. Retrieved 2010-04-08.
  16. ^ "China executes killer of eight school children". news.bbc.co.uk. 2010-04-28. Retrieved 2010-04-28.

26°38′31″N 118°10′39″E / 26.6419°N 118.1776°E / 26.6419; 118.1776