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Dozens Stabbed to Death in a Chinese Railway Station Attack

Update: China is now blaming a gang of Uighur separatists for a knife attack that killed dozens of people and injured hundreds more at a railway station.

By Adam Chandler
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Update: China is now blaming a gang of Uighur separatists for a knife attack that killed dozens of people and injured hundreds more at a railway station. The final death toll, which may include five of the assailants who were shot by police, is 34.

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Original post: Twenty-seven people have been reported dead in a knife attack at a train station in China earlier today. Over a hundred others were injured, according to the official Weibo microblog.

The attack, which was carried out by an unidentified gang, took place at the Kunming Railway Station in Yunnan province and was labeled a ""violent terror attack" by state officials. The police reportedly arrived and shot several members of the gang.

No motive has been determined and there are no shortage of gruesome pictures floating around the internet. There has been a spate of mass stabbings in China over the past few years, including a number at schools. In December 2012, one attack left 22 schoolchildren dead and prompted this analysis:

Most of the attackers have been mentally disturbed men involved in personal disputes or unable to adjust to the rapid pace of social change in China, underscoring grave weaknesses in the antiquated Chinese medical system’s ability to diagnose and treat psychiatric illness.

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.