Death toll rises to 3 after man crashes vehicle into crowd in China

Three are dead in China after a man fleeing the scene of a stabbing drove into a crowd and attacked onlookers, police said Sunday.

The 42-year-old man surnamed Wang got into a dispute with a companion after an afternoon of drinking and karaoke in the eastern province of Zhejiang.

Angry over the confrontation, Wang purchased a fruit knife, stabbed his friend's mother and fled the scene, according to a statement on the official social media account of Ningbo city's public security bureau.

The drunken Wang proceeded to steal a car at knifepoint and hit a cyclist, at which point the car burst into flames and Wang abandoned it, police said.

Wang fled on foot, stabbed two pedestrians, stole a driving instructor's car, and drove it into a crowd of nine people, at which point he jumped out and stabbed another five.

The incident is under investigation, the police said.

The latest violence follows an attack in September where a man ploughed a truck into a crowd in the southern province of Hunan and then went on a rampage attacking onlookers with knives and a shove.

Eleven died and 44 were injured.

The previous month a 54-year-old man killed his girlfriend and her family then drove a car into a crowd, killing six and injuring 12.

(With inputs from agencies.)