Suspect in bus attack held by police

Police in Xiamen, Fujian province, are holding a suspect they believe responsible for a bus blaze and knife attack that injured 12 people on Thursday morning.

Flame swept through a No 656 bus at the intersection of the city’s Lyuling Road and Caitang Road at about 8 am, according to local police.

Police said the suspect, surnamed Cai, ignited the fire on the bus with alcohol, and then wielded a knife and threatened to kill passengers, causing a panic on the bus. Some people suffered burns; others were hurt by broken glass and the sudden stop from emergency braking. All the injured were rushed to local hospitals.

Cai then fled the scene, but minutes later he was recognized by a passenger in a nearby public toilet.

The police said Cai attacked several passers-by before being cornered by officers, and then attempted to commit suicide by stabbing himself more than 10 times.

Cai, from Henan province, was also suspected of setting an early-morning fire at Huang Ze He, a snack food company in the city’s Tong’an district. No casualties from the 4 am fire have been reported.

The 53-year-old man, a former employee of the company, was fired by the company, citing theft, on Wednesday.

A staff member surnamed Yang with the food company said Cai, who cleans food baskets, had worked at the company for more than 10 years.

Yang said Cai had a temper and once fought a colleague over a trifle.

Further investigation of the two arsons was ongoing.

A string of bus arson cases have made headlines in recent years. On June 7, 2013, Chen Shuizong, of Xiamen, carried gasoline onto a rapid transit bus and started a fire that killed 47 people and injured 34 others. Police said Chen was in despair about his life.

On July 5, a bus fire in downtown Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, injured more than 30 people. Bao Laixu, the suspect, is thought to have carried out the arson to become famous.