China: Homemade Bomb Used in Kindergarten Attack

Cops found character for 'death' on suspect's wall
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 16, 2017 2:19 AM CDT
China: Homemade Bomb Used in Kindergarten Attack
Investigators work early Friday, June 16, 2017, at the scene of an explosion outside a kindergarten in eastern China's Jiangsu Province.   (Li Xiang/Xinhua via AP)

Chinese authorities say a homemade bomb was used in an explosion at the front gate of a kindergarten that killed eight people Thursday, including the suspect. Police say the 22-year-old male suspect was identified primarily using security camera footage and DNA collected at the blast scene in the city of Fengxian in Jiangsu province. They provided only his surname, Xu, but no motive. Investigators say they found materials for making a homemade bomb at Xu's nearby residence. They say emblazoned on the walls of the residence were the Chinese characters for death and disaster, the AP reports.

The police announcement says Xu had left school because of an autonomic nervous system disorder, whose symptoms can include dizziness and problems with basic bodily functions. Officials say 65 people were injured in the attack, including eight listed in critical condition. The attack happened as parents waited to pick up their children. Videos posted by the state-run People's Daily showed a chaotic scene outside the entrance to the school, with children and adults lying on the ground, some motionless and others struggling to get up off the ground. Clothing, shoes, and other items were strewn on the ground beside pools of blood. (More China stories.)

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