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       BEIJING: A driver in an SUV ploughed into students and pedestrians outside a primary school in southern China on Tuesday, leaving several people injured, state media said, as worries spread over a spate of violent attacks in the country in the past week.

       CCTV and other state media reported that the SUV hit people outside a primary school in Changde city in Hunan province as students were coming in for the day.

       Many bystanders were injured, CCTV reported, and police said they were sent to the hospital “as soon as possible,” with none having life-threatening injuries.

       Police did not provide a detailed number of those hurt. Police said in a statement that a 39-year-old male had been arrested in connection with the incident, without saying how it occurred, and investigations were continuing.

       Tuesday’s incident triggered a warning by Tokyo to Japanese citizens ahead of a soccer World Cup qualifier between the two nations, which went ahead but was briefly interrupted by a spectator covered in patriotic slogans who ran onto the field. Japanese nationals were targeted in public stabbings earlier this year.

       Video clips circulating on Chinese social media showed young children running into the Changde school compound, shouting, “Help!” One clip showed a compact, white SUV stopped beyond the school entrance.

       At least five people, including a student with a backpack, were lying on the path taken by the vehicle, in a narrow street in front of the school, the videos show.

       Published in Dawn, November 20th, 2024