Nanping school massacre
Encyclopedia
The Nanping school massacre (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. The incident occurred on March 23, 2010, around 7:20 am local time (UTC+8
). It was the first of the 2010 Chinese school attacks
.
). (Before the attacks, it was the school's practice to keep the gates shut until school began at 7:30 am) The perpetrator was subdued on the scene by three adults. Of the eight fatalities, six died at the scene and the other two later in hospital. The deceased were four boys and four girls.
The school, which has around 2,000 students, closed for the day on March 23 before reopening the following day.
reported that, according to a Nanping city government office who refused to be named, Zheng had a history of mental health issues. He later told police investigating the crime that he thought "life was meaningless", and confessed to the crime. Zheng was charged with intentional homicide
by the province's procuratorate.
At the trial, police stated that Zheng had no history of mental illness, contradicting earlier reports. Zheng said that he performed 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 April 8, 2010. Zheng Minsheng was executed by shooting on the April 28, 2010.
Nanping
Nanping is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Fujian province, People's Republic of China. It borders Ningde City to the east, Sanming City to the south, and the provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangxi to the north and west respectively...
, Fujian Province, People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, in which a man used a knife to kill eight children and seriously wound five others. The incident occurred on March 23, 2010, around 7:20 am local time (UTC+8
UTC+8
UTC+08:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +08:00. In ISO 8601 the associated time would be written as .With an estimated population of 1.53 billion living within the time zone, roughly 22.5% of the world population, it is the most populous time zone in world, as well as a possible...
). It was the first of the 2010 Chinese school attacks
2010 Chinese school attacks
A series of uncoordinated mass stabbings, hammer attacks, and cleaver attacks in the People's Republic of China began in March 2010. The spate of attacks left at least 21 dead and some 90 injured...
.
Incident and casualties
The children were attacked outside the gates by a man as they were arriving for school at 7:20 am local time (UTC+8UTC+8
UTC+08:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +08:00. In ISO 8601 the associated time would be written as .With an estimated population of 1.53 billion living within the time zone, roughly 22.5% of the world population, it is the most populous time zone in world, as well as a possible...
). (Before the attacks, it was the school's practice to keep the gates shut until school began at 7:30 am) The perpetrator was subdued on the scene by three adults. Of the eight fatalities, six died at the scene and the other two later in hospital. The deceased were four boys and four girls.
The school, which has around 2,000 students, closed for the day on March 23 before reopening the following day.
Perpetrator
Zheng Minsheng (April 30, 1968 – April 28, 2010) who had previously worked as a community doctor, was arrested. The Associated PressAssociated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
reported that, according to a Nanping city government office who refused to be named, Zheng had a history of mental health issues. He later told police investigating the crime that he thought "life was meaningless", and confessed to the crime. Zheng was charged with intentional homicide
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
by the province's procuratorate.
At the trial, police stated that Zheng had no history of mental illness, contradicting earlier reports. Zheng said that he performed 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 April 8, 2010. Zheng Minsheng was executed by shooting on the April 28, 2010.