Fan Weiqiu, 62, killed at least 35 people and injured dozens more after he drove his car into people exercising outside a stadium in Zhuhai, in what is thought to be the deadliest attack on Chinese soil for a decade.

Days later, Xu Jiajin, 21, killed eight people and wounded 17 others in a stabbing spree at his university in the eastern city of Wuxi.

Authorities said Fan was driven by “dissatisfaction” over how his property had been divided following his divorce, while Xu carried out his attack after “failing to obtain his diploma due to poor exam results”.

Fan was detained at the scene on 11 November, where he was found with self-inflicted wounds.

In December, he was found guilty of “endangering public safety”, with the court describing his motive as “extremely vile” and “the methods” used “particularly cruel”.

His execution on Monday comes less than a month after a court sentenced him to death.

In the case of Xu, police said confessed to his crime “without hesitation” on 16 November. He was sentenced to death on 17 December, with the court hearing that the circumstances of his crime were “particularly bad” and “extremely serious”.

China has been grappling with a spate of public violence of late, with many attackers believed to have been spurred by a desire to “take revenge on society” – where perpetrators target strangers over their personal grievances.

The number of such attacks across China reached 19 in 2024.

Within days of the Zhuhai and Wuxi attacks, a man drove into a crowd of children and parents outside a primary school in Changde city, injuring 30 of them.

Authorities said the man, Huang Wen, wanted to vent his anger after dealing with investment losses and family conflict.

Huang was handed a suspended death sentence last month – it could be commuted to life imprisonment if he does not commit another crime in the next two years.

Thirty people, including 18 schoolchildren, were hurt in the incident in Changde City on 19 November. It was the third attack on a crowd in China in the span of one week.

The suspended death sentence for Huang Wen could be commuted to life imprisonment if he does not commit another crime in the next two years.

The ruling however sparked criticism online, with some social media users accusing the court of being lenient on Huang.

In a statement, the court said Huang carried out the attack to vent his anger after dealing with investment losses and family conflict.

The sentencing marked the first time the exact number of injuries from the Changde City incident was known. Many posts about it have been scrubbed from social media.

Just days before, a man who was reportedly unhappy over his divorce settlement, ploughed his car into a crowd in Zhuhai, killing 35 people.

Some observers have described such attacks as acts of vengeance against society. 

Others say these incidents underscore some people’s pent-up frustrations over China’s economy.

“Why does he deserve a suspension?” one Weibo user said of Huang.

“Such vicious cases need to be dealt with seriously and swiftly for deterrence,” another commented.

Videos that circulated immediately after the attack showed children lying on the ground, others fleeing in panic, and an angry pedestrian banging on Huang’s car with a snow shovel while he was still inside.

The court said Huang’s actions at that time reflected the “extremely severe criminal circumstances” he was in.

As part of his sentence, Huang was also stripped of political rights for life.