Police in Zhuhai detain a driver who drove into a crowd and then fled

Police in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai said Monday they detained a 62-year-old man after he rammed a car into people exercising at a local sports center and fled.

One of the four hospitals that took in people for treatment said it had more than 20 injured people, state media reported.

Police identified the man only by his family name of Fan, consistent with the practice by Chinese authorities. The police statement said the vehicle knocked down “a number of” of pedestrians Monday evening.

It was not immediately clear whether it was an attack or an accident. No motive was mentioned, and police said investigations continued.

The incident occurred yesterday on the eve of China’s annual air show in Zhuhai.

The sports center for the city district of Xiangzhou regularly attracts hundreds of residents. Following the incident, the center announced it would be closed until further notice.

China has seen a number of attacks in which suspects appear to target random people such as schoolchildren.

In October, a 50-year-old man was detained after he allegedly used a knife to attack childrenat a school in Beijing. Five people were injured. In September, three people were killed in a knife attack in a Shanghai supermarket.