Chinese/French Newlyweds Attacked in Random Stabbing Outside Uniqlo in Sanlitun, Wife Dies

Tom Arnstein | Aug 13, 2015 1:53 pm | 30 comments | 100164 reads

[Warning: graphic photos]

[Updated 8/14, 9.45am] A stabbing attack that occurred in broad daylight in front of the Uniqlo store in Sanlitun's Taikoo Li Thursday morning has left one Chinese woman dead and a French man injured.

Photographs of the incident, which took place in front of hundreds of onlookers, show the female victim on the ground, having sustained a chest wound, with the injured male trying to assist her. They have since been identified as a married Chinese and French couple.

Other photos show the suspect wielding a meter-long sword nearby, voluntarily lying down on the pavement when approached by police, who then cordoned off the area.

An official Beijing Public Security Bureau statement released via Weibo just after 3.20pm (below) indicated that the woman who had been attacked died from her injuries. The statement says that the attacker, whose surname is Gao, is 25 years and from Tonghua in Jilin Province. Police are continuing their investigation.

As of Thursday night, sources close to the victim tell the Beijinger that the man injured is safe after surgery at Chaoyang Hospital to treat wounds that did not reach any of his internal organs.

The Beijing News reported Friday morning that the couple was married only 10 days ago and had planned to relocate to France in a month.

The Uniqlo outlet was already notorious, with one of its dressing rooms providing setting for a widely-viewed amateur sex video, shot and posted to the Internet via Weibo in July. Five people have since been arrested in connection with that incident.

This latest attack comes just over two years after a similar stabbing at the Joy City mall on Qingnian Lu in eastern Beijing, during which an American woman was killed and another man was injured.

Photos and videos of the scene were shared widely via WeChat and Weibo yesterday (warning: graphic content):

More stories by this author here.

Email: tomarnstein@thebeijinger.com
WeChat: tenglish_
Instagram: @tenglish__

Photos: weibo.com, inews.qq.com

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skateboard's picture skateboard Submitted by Guest on Sat, 08/15/2015 - 21:41

admin wrote:
skateboard wrote:

Thats the mentality here admin, And it sucks ..you suck too it seems.....I am sure that weapons of some short were around and if 2-3 guys get together taking down a skinny dude with a sword would not be to hard.

yes,like i said, if i had a weapon, i'd go after the guy as well.

without weapons or shields, charging a murderous guy with a meter-long sword is heroic but foolish.

it takes a real man to admit the truth, which is you wouldnt do it either without a weapon.

i dont feel its right for me to arrogantly declare an unarmed peasant from the countryside who works as a security guard for what amounts to rmb 12 an hour (probably doing this because he has no other job prospects) is not a real man if he doesnt throw his life away trying to subdue a samurai sword-wielding maniac.

As for spectators, i suppose that people could have attempted to stone the guy to death via a hail of expertly-thrown iphones, but come on, how else is a passer-by supposed to get the edge on a guy with a sword?

How hard is it to find a beer bottle in Sanlitun? Who walks around with a shield?

It does not matter how much money the unarmed peasant makes. That is not the point...and even if it was..the job, security guard means they need to provide SECURITY to the area! And what about the police?

You think its fine to label a bunch of people you dont know peasants? But, dont feel its right to "arrogantly declare" Its pussy to stand around a watch a "sword-wielding maniac" hurt women?

To be clear no, I would not just run at a swordsmen with my d**K in my hand. But, you can BET I would have done a hell of a lot more than take pics! Like i said.. grab a stick or beer bottle or get a couple guys to surround him. even just distracting him at a safe distance would have been better.. You seem to think the only options were sit watch and take pics..or straight walk at the guy like some unarmed asshole with a death wish!

Not sure if you are a chinese "man" or just a "guy" that has been here to long..either way I suggest you rethink how you conduct yourself... How would you feel if this was your mom/wife? Would you be so quick to let everyone off the hook? No big deal that nobody helped her ..just stood around and took pics!

If you really truthfully think about about it...you will see how sad this really is.

mike

admin's picture admin Submitted by Guest on Sat, 08/15/2015 - 14:56

skateboard wrote:

Thats the mentality here admin, And it sucks ..you suck too it seems.....I am sure that weapons of some short were around and if 2-3 guys get together taking down a skinny dude with a sword would not be to hard.

yes,like i said, if i had a weapon, i'd go after the guy as well.

without weapons or shields, charging a murderous guy with a meter-long sword is heroic but foolish.

it takes a real man to admit the truth, which is you wouldnt do it either without a weapon.

i dont feel its right for me to arrogantly declare an unarmed peasant from the countryside who works as a security guard for what amounts to rmb 12 an hour (probably doing this because he has no other job prospects) is not a real man if he doesnt throw his life away trying to subdue a samurai sword-wielding maniac.

As for spectators, i suppose that people could have attempted to stone the guy to death via a hail of expertly-thrown iphones, but come on, how else is a passer-by supposed to get the edge on a guy with a sword?

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skateboard's picture skateboard Submitted by Guest on Sat, 08/15/2015 - 13:45

Thats the mentality here admin, And it sucks ..you suck too it seems.....I am sure that weapons of some short were around and if 2-3 guys get together taking down a skinny dude with a sword would not be to hard.

Maybe I am old fashioned but. MEN dont let people run around with swords trying to hurt women!

mike

admin's picture admin Submitted by Guest on Sat, 08/15/2015 - 08:43

Guest wrote:

 Tell me five security guards or police couldn't take down one psycho with a knife ? And this city is going to have the Olympic Games ? 

Give me a two-meter long halberd, a gun or some pepper spray, and I'm going in. Otherwise, you go first, hero -- I'll be right behind you

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admin's picture admin Submitted by Guest on Sat, 08/15/2015 - 07:30

americanmale wrote:
why are the bystanders doing nothing?

many of them called the police to report the crime

americanmale wrote:
what is the maniquin doing out there?

The Beijing News report indicated that the man with the knife had gone into Uniqlo and pulled the mannequin out.

americanmale wrote:
everytime I walk by that area, 5 or 6 cops are stading around, they are on vacation?

At the risk of sounding like i am defending inept cops/security guards, may i remind you that most of them have no weapons at all.

I'd be slightly hesitant to approach a man wielding a meter-long sword that has just stabbed two people if I do not have a weapon of my own.

 

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skateboard's picture skateboard Submitted by Guest on Fri, 08/14/2015 - 15:41

I feel for this frenchmen! Thats a heartbreaker, married 10 days ago!!!

I dont want to hear about how this guy is crazy. Every time somone in china does something terible. "he is mentaly ill" That manic that beat down that little kid ...this guy walking around the city with a massive sword!!

How about some police accountability! there is a police station a 2 min walk from where this happened! Those lazy bastards where most likely sleeping or sitting around smoking cigs and talking about picking thier noses!

mike

mapleleafman's picture mapleleafman Submitted by Guest on Fri, 08/14/2015 - 14:24

First of all, sympathies to the French gentleman who lost the love of his life yesterday. What a terrible, and unfortunately, preventable tragedy.

Sanlitun, probably the most famous and most frequented location in all of China where things are an absolute free-for-all from a security standpoint. Maybe only to be compared with Xintiandi in Shanghai as far as that goes.

How many times have we been told that the "drug dealers" who frequent the area have been cleared out, arrestred or deported? How does a guy brandishing a one-meter sword get to the center of the square without real, trained, armed security following and aprehending him in a place like "The VIllage" in Sanlitun?

The amount of corruption that goes on in this one area of Beijing is absolutely unreal. You've got all of the fake taxis out front, drug dealers everywhere, beggers who are clearly employed by organized sydicates all over the place, people selling stolen I-phones right in front of the Apple Store. People having sex in the change room at Uniqlo and now a murder in broad daylight. How can there not be a public outcry over what's going on at this place? Admittedly its one of the most important destinations in Beijing, with great restaurants, movie theater, great stores etc. Whoever controls this place (state-owned company, perhaps) should be liable for everything that has happened here and will continue to happen until real security, law and order are introduced here. Too had it will be too late for this young woman.

Mapleafman

admin's picture admin Submitted by Guest on Fri, 08/14/2015 - 10:01

Guest wrote:

Agreed. I just don't understand the actions of most Chinese people in situations like this. They both needed medical attention but taking photos is apparently the only thing anyone could think to do? I don't understand all the medical misconceptions in China. Applying pressure and calling emergency services/getting transport would have ben the best thing to do. Where is the common sense? Someone do a campaign on basic first aid and how to react appropriately in these situations- please!

Not a fair comment. I am sure that many people called the police as soon as they saw what happened, which is probably the best that could be done. 

 

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admin's picture admin Submitted by Guest on Fri, 08/14/2015 - 09:57

britomart wrote:

admin wrote:

... They were coming out of the embassy to officialize their wedding when they came accross this crazy chinese guy who told roro he did not like american people. He replied he was french. ...

Did the American embassy used to be near there? Or was that farther south near Ritan Park? This out-of-town guy probably thought he was near the American embassy, took the French guy's reply as a lie and the trigger for avenging some sort of vendetta.

 

No, the American embassy used to be near Xiushui, which is not near where this incident happened.

It's fairly clear the guy was off his rocker, so there's no sense trying to rationalize his actions.

Thank god its not easy for these nutcases to get their hands on guns (like they can in my home country Sad )

 

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britomart's picture britomart Submitted by Guest on Fri, 08/14/2015 - 09:08

admin wrote:

... They were coming out of the embassy to officialize their wedding when they came accross this crazy chinese guy who told roro he did not like american people. He replied he was french. ...

Did the American embassy used to be near there? Or was that farther south near Ritan Park? This out-of-town guy probably thought he was near the American embassy, took the French guy's reply as a lie and the trigger for avenging some sort of vendetta.

Doubt wisely; in strange way / To stand inquiring right is not to stray; / To sleep, or run wrong, is. (Donne, Satire III)

squid's picture squid Submitted by Guest on Fri, 08/14/2015 - 00:28

The security there is inexcusably bad. The management office once told me that they can't do anything about the peddlars annoying people with the laser lights, because if they try to stop them, the sellers will beat up their security guards with flashlights.

If they can't control that, how in the heck can they control anything serious. And they get no help at all from the police?

Shocking.

Steven Schwankert's picture Steven Schwankert Submitted by Guest on Thu, 08/13/2015 - 20:51

bigurl,

Yes and no. Her husband appears to have been applying pressure to the wound, which may help. However, both of them needed to receive medical care as soon as possible, so someone needed to call emergency medical services, and other people could have helped find transportation for the two of them to go to the hospital, with Chaoyang Hospital less than a kilometer away. Regardless, standing around taking pictures is never the most helpful course of action.

bigurl's picture bigurl Submitted by Guest on Thu, 08/13/2015 - 19:32

urluckystrike wrote:
Foreigner helping Chinese taking pictures...

that was not really helping, at a moment like that, the more you move her, the more she bleeds, and the faster she dies, so the chinese actually did the right thing, have some sense pls,

women r meant to be loved, not to be understood —— idiot

admin's picture admin Submitted by Guest on Thu, 08/13/2015 - 19:25

The woman has been confirmed dead.

The man helping her was her newlywed husband.

this is now being circulated via WeChat from an unidentified source:

"Guys, it is very bad news. Our captain roro s wife has been killed by a crazy guy using a 1 meter long knife ("sabre" in french) a few hours ago in sanlitun. They were coming out of the embassy to officialize their wedding when they came accross this crazy chinese guy who told roro he did not like american people. He replied he was french. They left and he inserted his long knife inside isabelle s back.. Trying to defend her, the knife went inside roro s belly twice.... Isabelle died right after she made it to the hospital. Romain is going through an operation now because it was bleeding inside his body..This happened exactly 2 years after the murder of an american citizen in joyce city.. I can t find the words... Huge shock"

 

 

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