Nanping school massacre

The Nanping school massacre (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".

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

Incident and casualties

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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

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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

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The following were victims of the massacre, listed by names in English and Chinese and 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

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References

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  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.[dead link]
  3. ^ "Chinese doctor hacks eight schoolchildren to death". AFP. Agence France-Presse. 23 March 2010. Archived from the original on March 26, 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. Archived from the original on March 27, 2010. 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. Archived from the original on March 26, 2010. 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