AP News, April 3rd, 2007
A knife-wielding Chinese tour guide injured 20 people in a stabbing-and-slashing spree at a southwestern resort following an argument over kickbacks on souvenir sales, a news report said Tuesday.
Fifteen tourists at the resort and five local residents were injured after Sunday's attack in Lijiang, a scenic mountain town in Yunnan province, the Shanghai Daily newspaper reported. At least one person remained in critical condition.
Xu Mingchao, a 25-year-old guide from the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, was arrested following the incident and was being evaluated for mental illness, the report said.
The official Xinhua News Agency said Xu had quarreled with a local guide over how to split their cuts of profits from merchandise sold to tourists in their group, a common way for guides to supplement their meager salaries.
Following the argument, Xu stormed into a souvenir shop and demanded a knife, Xinhua said. Unaware of his mood, the saleswoman handed him one and Xu immediately stabbed her in the arm, then ran down the street, chasing, stabbing and slashing those in his path, the report said.
A 15-year-old visitor from the eastern province of Anhui suffered a brain injury, Xinhua said, while a 7-year-old boy from Lijiang suffered a cut to a neck vein.
Also injured was a 17-year-old girl who suffered wounds to the face and neck while trying to protect a 2-month-old infant she was watching. The baby suffered only a slight bruise.
"I bowed my head to kiss the baby, but felt a chill. When I looked up, I saw a knife was close to the baby's face, so I instinctively hugged the baby and cried out for help," the girl, Hong Yuhua, was quoted as saying Monday night.
The baby's mother, the owner of a souvenir shop, suffered stab wounds to the back.
Following the attacks, Xu ran into a private home where he was pursued by a group of 20 policemen and others, Xinhua said.
Xinhua said authorities have tried with little success to stamp out the taking of kickbacks, the apparent source of Xu's anger.
However, Xinhua said police believe Xu had worse problems, saying Xu earlier had broken out in tears when talking about his parent's divorce "and how it overshadowed his childhood."
