© 2024 Kansas City Public Radio
NPR in Kansas City
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
KCUR is broadcasting from our auxiliary tower, limiting the reach of our broadcast signal. Streaming is still available online at KCUR.org and on smart devices.

Man Injured After Triggering Bomb In Beijing Airport

In a photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, medical workers and policemen provide  assistance to the alleged  bomber at Beijing International Airport on Saturday.
Chen Jianli
/
Associated Press

( This story was last updated at 9:10 a.m. EDT)

A man in a wheelchair detonated a homemade bomb at Beijing International Airport, injuring himself but no one else, China's state media says.

The explosion occurred at about 6:24 p.m. Beijing time on Saturday. State-run China Central Television says the wounded man was taken to a hospital after setting off the device and that no one else was injured, no flights were affected and order had been restored at the airport.

The BBC says:

"Photos posted on China's Weibo microblogging site showed a dark-haired man waving a white package in the air before the blast.

Later images showed the wheelchair on its side with officials treating a man on the floor.

His condition was unclear. Smoke spread through the terminal after the blast."

The man, identified by CCTV as Ji Zhongxing, 34, from Shandong province in the country's northeast, handed out leaflets before he detonated the explosive, according to Xinhua. CCTV says the device consisted of gunpowder from fireworks.

NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports from Beijing that:

"... a micro blog bearing Mr. Ji's name says that he was working as an unlicensed motorcycle taxi driver in southern China in 2005 when local police auxiliaries attacked him and left him crippled. The micro blog was accessible for a couple of hours after the incident, but has since been shut down."

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Scott Neuman is a reporter and editor, working mainly on breaking news for NPR's digital and radio platforms.
KCUR serves the Kansas City region with breaking news and award-winning podcasts.
Your donation helps keep nonprofit journalism free and available for everyone.