Man on trial over fatal bus attack

ZHENGZHOU - A 24-year-old Chinese man stood trial on Tuesday at a court in Central China's Henan province over a crazed knife attack on a bus which left three dead and 16 injured in August.

Zhou Jiangbo, a native of Neihuang county, Henan, was charged with intentional homicide and "endangering public security by using dangerous means," according to the Anyang City Intermediate People's Court.

On August 18, Zhou injured three neighbors at home with a shovel following a dispute and then fled, said the prosecutors. They alleged that the next day, wrongly believing two seriously injured neighbors had died, Zhou bought two knives and a steel bar, planning a killing spree at public venues such as bus stations and hospitals in Anyang.

Zhou boarded a public bus in Baibi township, Anyang county. He tried to snatch the steering wheel as the bus was running, which caused the vehicle to collide with a truck, prosecutors said.

He is then alleged to have stabbed the bus driver, ticket seller and passengers, leaving three dead and four seriously injured. Twelve others sustained slight or minor injuries. The dead included a 10-month-old baby girl and two boys aged 10 and 18. Zhou was caught by police on August 20.

The brutal attack shocked the nation. Police offered an award of 100,000 yuan ($16,363) for tips leading to an arrest.