July 5 riot "far beyond ordinary violent matter"

• Source: Xinhua
• [08:55 July 19 2009]
• Comments

SUDDEN ERUPTION ALL OVER

According to the local public security department, at about 9:00 p.m., the department received reports that thugs were making violence in more than 50 places in the city, attacking passersby, cars, shops, resident buildings, police and government offices.

The city's first aid center said they received numerous SOS calls starting from 8:23 p.m., resulting in the breakdown of the telephone switching system.

According to the center, from the night of July 5 to the next morning, it sent out ambulances for 737 times to give medical support to about 900 injured people.

A young woman told Xinhua that she was in a bus when the thugs started the violence. "There were also thugs in the bus. It was like they colluded over the whole thing and just waited in the bus for the time to come."

The girl said that she was beat "powerfully" in the head while trying to get off the bus after the driver opened the door. She was later sent to hospital for treatment.

"If there were no plan or organizing in advance, how could so many people appear in more than 50 places at the same time with the same violent behaviors?" an expert on public security told Xinhua.