Two Expat Women Injured in Cleaver Attacks North of Sanlitun

Two expatriate women, one from Jamaica and one from France, are being treated for injuries after being attacked by a cleaver-wielding Chinese woman this morning, eyewitnesses report.

The Jamaican woman was departing a Sunday service for foreign passport holders and received minor injuries after being attacked by the woman outside the Capital Mansion complex north of Sanlitun.

A second expatriate woman, reportedly from France, was attacked by the same woman a half an hour earlier while biking on Xinyuan Nanlu, just northwest of Capital Mansion.

The two were both being treated at a nearby clinic as of this afternoon.

According to witnesses, the Jamaican woman was one of a group of about 100 foreign church-goers departing the regular Sunday service at the Congregation of the Good Shepherd. While on her way out of the parking lot, the victim was approached by a middle-aged Chinese woman who asked in Mandarin, "Do you speak Chinese?"

Before the foreign woman could react, the Chinese woman pulled out a meat cleaver and attacked her with it, causing hand and face injuries.

One person who has talked to the French victim claims the assailant was yelling "Meiguoren! Meiguoren! (American! American!)" at the time of the attack. No details were given about the severity of the French person's wounds, other than they are not life-threatening.

The Jamaican woman, a regular parishioner at the church group that meets at the Capital Mansion Athletic Club, ran away from the woman and was quickly surrounded by other parishioners. Shortly afterward, the Chinese woman and an unidentified man were whisked away in a public security car.

No motive was apparent in the attack and the attacker appeared to choose her victims randomly.

Both women were taken to the nearby Raffles Medical Clinic (formerly International SOS) to treat their injuries. Neither victims' injuries are reported to be severe.

The incident brings up the very occasional but very real incidence of foreigners being targeted in violent crimes in Beijing.

The rare nature of the incidents make them all the more shocking, like when they occurred in 2012 in Qianmen, in 2013 in front of Joy City Mall, and most notoriously, last summer in front of the Uniqlo at Taikoo Li. In most cases, the assailants have used knives or cleavers and have reportedly suffered from mental illnesses.

This is a good time to remind all foreigners that while Beijing is an exceptionally safe place compared to other metropolises of its size throughout the world, it pays to be vigilant, especially in crowded areas.

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Email: kylemullin@truerun.com
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Images: Kyle Mullin