Car Bomb Attack Over Family Dispute Kills 7 In Southern China

Car bomb attack over family dispute kills 7 in southern China < br />

2013-02-15 07:52:13 GMT+7 (ICT)

ZHANJIANG, CHINA (BNO NEWS) -- Seven people were killed Wednesday when a man blew up an explosives-laden car at the house of his former in-laws in southern China, apparently over a dispute with his ex-wife over who should get custody of their children, state-run media reported on Thursday.

The incident happened at around 1:50 p.m. local time on Wednesday when a car carrying homemade explosives was blown up outside a house in Litianshang, a village located in the coastal city of Zhanjiang in Guangdong Province. The powerful blast damaged several houses in the neighborhood.

Liu Benquan, security bureau chief for the city's Potou district, said a man in his 50s told police that he had driven the car to the house of his ex-wife's family and deliberately set off the explosives. The suspect, identified only as Chen, said he was seeking revenge following a dispute with his ex-wife over who should get custody of their children.

The state-run Xinhua news agency said five people were killed, but it was not immediately known if Chen's ex-wife was among those killed. Chen and seventeen other people were injured in the blast, including five people who remained in an intensive care unit at a local hospital on late Thursday evening.

Chen was among those critically injured and went into a coma after giving a statement to police, Xinhua said. Most of the victims were relatives of Chen's ex-wife who were visiting the village to celebrate the Chinese New Year, which began on Sunday but celebrations continue for several days.

Attacks using explosives are extremely rare in China, but a similar incident took place in January 2012 on China's New Year's Eve. The incident happened in central China where a man broke into his cousin's house with explosives strapped to his body and detonated them at the family's dinner table, killing himself and four others. Police said the man was angry over a land dispute.

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