China removes memorials to car ramming attack victims amid public outrage

The Chinese government has ramped up security at the site of attack that killed 35 in southern China.

Authorities in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai have removed wreaths, candles, and bottles of Chinese alcohol left as tributes at the site of the country’s deadliest mass killing in a decade, in an effort to manage public anger over the government’s response.

Officials in southern China ramped up security at the site in Guangdong province on Wednesday, two days after a driver rammed his vehicle into a sports complex, killing 35 people as they were exercising.

On Monday, the 62-year-old man, identified only by his surname Fan, ploughed a small SUV through a gate to the complex and into crowds of people on the roads inside, according to police. In addition to those killed, at least 43 others were left with non-life-threatening injuries, according to state media.

The government took almost a day to announce the death toll.

An initial police statement said people had been injured but did not mention deaths, and videos of the attack later appeared to be removed by China‘s internet censors.