US officials and media report that four American professors were stabbed at a park in northeast China

According to Chinese and American government officials, a stabbing attack in a public park in northeast China’s Jilin province on Monday left four American academics from a small Iowa institution injured.

The event was a random attack, according to China’s foreign ministry, and it will “not affect normal people-to-people exchanges between China and the United States” on Tuesday.

Representative Adam Zabner of Iowa informed Reuters that one of the victims was his brother, who attended Cornell College in Iowa.

“My brother, David Zabner, was wounded in the arm during a stabbing attack while visiting a temple in Jilin City, China,” he stated.

“I had a conversation with David… He is doing well and getting well from his wounds. The fact that David survived this attack is much appreciated by my family.”

He said that the group had been accosted by a man brandishing a knife while they were at a temple in Beishan Park.

According to China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian, “the police have preliminary judgment that this was a random incident, but an investigation is ongoing” during a daily briefing on Tuesday.

“All the injured individuals were immediately taken to the hospital and were given appropriate critical care, no one’s life is in danger,” Lin stated.

The foreign ministry of China declared that it will keep up its aggressive efforts to protect international visitors to the country.

On Monday, a video appeared on X showing individuals lying on the ground in a blood-covered park; however, there was no sign of the photos on Chinese social media.

Based on Chinese characters engraved on a wall, the structure of the wall, and the design of the route, Reuters was able to pinpoint the site of the video; however, it was unable to ascertain when it was taken.

A few posts that were still up on the Chinese social media site Weibo questioned the official media’s massive censoring of the incident.

“Do they really think that censoring domestic discussion of the incident impacts whether foreigners choose to visit China or not?” wrote a user on Weibo.

In an email, a representative for the US State Department stated that they were keeping an eye on the situation and were aware of reports of a “stabbing incident” in Jilin, China.

The Cornell College educators were participating in a teaching exchange program at Beihua, a partner university in Jilin City.

Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa wrote on X, “We are working through proper channels and requesting to speak with the U.S. Embassy on appropriate matters to ensure that the victims first receive quality care for their injuries and then get out of China in a medically feasible manner.”

In an effort to strengthen links between people, Chinese President Xi Jinping last year promised to welcome 50,000 young Americans to study there. However, as of right now, there is still a Level 3 travel recommendation from the State Department to China, which warns of potential arbitrary detention and exit restrictions.

According to U.S. data, there are currently over 290,000 Chinese students studying in the United States, while there are less than 900 American exchange students studying in China.