Members of the public paid their respects Wednesday to those killed by a driver who rammed people exercising at a sports complex in southern China as the country mourned, but little information was available about the suspect or the victims of the attack.

Monday night’s accident in Zhuhai killed 35 people and seriously injured 43 others, and the driver was apprehended as he tried to escape. Authorities said the 62-year-old man, surnamed Fan, was upset over his divorce settlement.

Members of the public began laying flowers in honor of the victims on Tuesday night and continued through Wednesday.

There was a light police presence in the morning at the Zhuhai Sports Complex, which was closed until further notice, but the number of officers increased as the morning wore on.

While the police allowed people to leave bouquets of flowers in memory of the dead right outside the entrance to the sports complex, volunteers then quickly moved the flowers inside the sports center.

“May there be no bullies in heaven,” read the message on one bouquet. “Good deeds will be rewarded and bad deeds will be punished.”

The attack on took place on the eve of the Zhuhai Airshow, an aviation exhibition sponsored by the People’s Liberation Army that takes place every two years.

Chinese authorities often go to extra lengths to strictly control information about major or sensitive events such as the air show. Censors also take special care in the case of major catastrophes or violence, often censoring eyewitness accounts. Clear information on the number of deaths and injuries was not available for almost 24 hours after the attack.

The videos were quickly censored inside China, although they circulated outside the Great Firewall. They were posted by Teacher Li, a dissident-turned-artist who has an X account with 1.7 million followers that posts crowdsourced videos about Chinese news.

Chinese media articles featuring interviews with survivors were quickly removed on Monday and Tuesday. Trending news about the attack was largely based on official statements from the authorities.

Police said their preliminary investigation found Fan was unhappy with the division of financial assets during his divorce. Beyond this description, no further information was available regarding the divorce or the alleged reason for it.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping called for the perpetrator to be “strictly” punished according to the law in a statement late on Tuesday.

He also called on all local governments to “strengthen the prevention and control of risks at the source, strictly prevent the occurrence of extreme cases, and resolve conflicts and disputes in a timely manner,” according to the official Xinhua news agency.

The Sabah Daily Newsletter

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