6 killed after man ploughs car into crowd in China; driver shot dead

BEIJING - Chinese police shot dead a man on Friday (March 22) after he ploughed his car into pedestrians, killing six people, media reports said.

The man had intentionally driven into the people but a report on state television did not elaborate on the motive behind the early morning incident in Zaoyang city in the central province of Hubei.

A video, published by Shanghai-based news outlet The Paper, shows a body covered in a blanket left on the roadside and a group trying to lift someone onto a stretcher.

Police received calls at around 6am about the incident. Seven other people were injured and were in hospital, state television added. It gave no other details.

There have been several similar incidents in China in recent years.

Last September, at least 11 people were killed when a car drove onto a crowded square in southern China and the driver attacked people with a knife and spade seeking "revenge" on society for previous criminal convictions.

Police detained the driver, a man in his 40s, and described him as a "vengeful repeat offender" who had daggers in his car and intended to "cause serious damage".

In late November, a car ploughed into a group of children crossing a street in front of an elementary school in the northeastern Liaoning province, killing five people and injuring at least 19.

The driver said he "chose his victims at random" and had reportedly been contemplating suicide due to domestic troubles before the tragedy occurred.