4 US college instructors injured in China stabbing attack

The reason for the attack remains unclear while there has been no report about the attackers yet. (File Photo: Michael Förtsch/Unsplash)

ISTANBUL – At least four US college instructors sustained non-life-threatening injuries in a stabbing attack in northeastern China, officials confirmed.

“I am in touch with Iowa’s federal delegation and the state department in response to this horrifying attack,” said Kim Reynolds, the governor of US state of Iowa, where the US instructors are from.

The attack was reported on Monday in the Jilin city of the Jilin province, where the instructors were associated with Beihua University.

The reason for the attack remains unclear while there has been no report about the attackers yet.

Footage from the incident site shows the four instructors bleeding and lying on the ground.

They were deployed by Iowa-based Cornell College, which has a cooperative relationship with Beihua University since 2018.

According to the daily South China Morning Post, “nearly all the images and discussion of the incident have since been removed in China, where social media platforms are heavily censored.

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While the site of the attack is 1 km. (just more than half a mile) from government offices, it added, “An officer at the nearest police station said on Tuesday that he had ‘no comment’ when asked about the incident.”

Hu Xijin, a Chinese journalist known for his commentary on security issues, “condemned” the attack.

“Regardless of the attacker’s motive, this incident is an isolated case in the broader context of Chinese society. Chinese public’s general sentiment toward foreign tourists in marketplaces and tourist spots is friendly,” he said on X.

Notably, China reported at least three knife-stabbing incidents last month in which 13 people were killed in the provinces of Hubei, Yunnan, and Hunan.