TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Four American university instructors were stabbed in a park in China on Monday (June 10).
According to the U.S. State Department and Cornell College in Iowa, four American university lecturers on a teaching program in China were reportedly stabbed by a man in a park. The college described it as a “serious incident," per CBS News.
Jonathan Brand, the college's president, was cited by CBS as saying that the attack occurred during the daytime trip to a public park, and no students from the college were taking part in the program. Iowa State representative Adam Zabner told the news station that his brother David Zabner was among the victims.
Zabner said the instructors were visiting a local temple when a man assaulted them with a knife. According to Zabner, his brother suffered a stab wound to his arm and is recovering in a hospital.
CNN reported that the group of Cornell College faculty members were attacked while visiting a partner university in China. Cornell College spokesperson Jen Visser told CNN that the stabbing incident occurred in Jilin City, and the partner school is Beihua University.
Iowa Congressional Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks on Tuesday (June 11) said on X that her office is in touch with the victims' families. She also called on the U.S. Embassy to take measures to “ensure that the victims receive quality care for their injuries and then get out of China in a medically feasible manner.”
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds said on X she is “in touch with Iowa's federal delegation and the state department in response to this horrifying attack.” She told everyone to “pray for their full recovery, safe return, and their families here at home.”
A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said it was "aware of reports of a stabbing incident in Jilin, the People's Republic of China," reported AFP. It stated that the assault is believed to have occurred on Monday.
Authorities in Jilin province have yet to comment on the attack.
In April, the U.S. State Department issued a Level 3 travel advisory (the second highest warning level) for China, citing the risk of arbitrary detention and the possibility of preventing Americans from leaving China. Some U.S. universities have suspended China programs because of the travel warning.
