MICHAEL ZHANGAFP
Workers in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai removed flowers and candles early Wednesday from a makeshift memorial to 35 people killed when a man drove a car into a crowd in one of the country's deadliest mass-casualty events in years.
On Monday, a 62-year-old man surnamed Fan ploughed a small SUV through a gate to a sports complex and into crowds of people as they exercised on the roads inside, according to police.
An initial police statement said people had been injured but did not mention any deaths, and videos of the attack later appeared to be scrubbed from China's tightly controlled social media platforms.
As of Wednesday morning, the rampage had left 35 people dead and 43 with injuries not deemed life-threatening, according to state media reports.
Police said Fan was apprehended at the scene but was in a coma after inflicting injuries to his neck and elsewhere with a knife, preventing them from interrogating him.
However, the force said preliminary enquiries suggested the attack was "triggered by (Fan's) dissatisfaction with the division of property following his divorce."
On Tuesday night, AFP reporters saw delivery drivers placing online orders of flower bouquets beside flickering candles to commemorate the victims.
In the early hours of Wednesday, cleaning staff cleared away the memorial, with some telling AFP they were acting on an "order from the top".
A handful of people closer to where the attack took place were blocked from taking videos by a police car and security guards shouting: "No filming!"
Footage of Monday's incident, geolocated by AFP, showed people lying motionless on the ground while others were seen frantically attempting to resuscitate the seemingly unconscious.
An eyewitness surnamed Liu told the Chinese news magazine Caixin that the car "drove in a loop" around a dedicated exercise track encircling the stadium in the sports complex.
"People were hurt in all areas of the running track -- east, south, west, and north," he said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping urged "all-out efforts" to treat the injured and "demanded punishing the perpetrator in accordance with the law", according to state news agency Xinhua.
The incident occurred as Zhuhai hosted China's largest airshow, which showcased Beijing's civil and military aerospace sector.
Japan's embassy warned its citizens in China to be on high alert and "refrain from speaking loudly in Japanese", despite no initial indications that any had been targeted.
