Dispute escalates into knife rampage, killing 5

A man wielding a knife killed five people at a marketplace in Changsha, Hunan province, on Friday, after he became embroiled in a dispute with a co-worker at a bread shop, police said.

Officers fatally shot Hebir Turdi as he lunged at more people while trying to flee, Changsha police said in an online statement.

Turdi had gotten into a dispute with his co-worker Memet Abla that escalated into a brawl on Friday morning. He hacked Abla to death, police said.

As he fled, he attacked four other people with the knife. Two of them died at the scene and the other two at a hospital.

The owner of the shop, which sells Xinjiang sesame bread from a canvas tent, was taken into custody by police, witnesses said.

Lu Yewen, the owner of a clinic just meters from the bread shop, said the shop had been in business for more than two years.

Lu said he knew the shop's boss because he had received treatment at his clinic.

"Many people were shocked, and their first reaction was to call the police," he said.

Another witness, who gave her name only as Li, said she was so frightened that she could not move her legs during the attack.

"I was riding an electric bicycle away from home when I saw it. He attempted to turn the knife toward the police officers before he was shot," she said.

Luo Yi, a witness who lives nearby, said the two bread shop employees both used their knives during the fight and the whole incident lasted more than half an hour.

After the knife attack, local education authorities ordered nearby schools to keep students at school when classes finished. They were allowed to leave school only in the company of their parents.

Xu Hui, the father of a third-grader, rushed to his child's primary school, which is less than 200 meters from the scene of the attacks, after learning of the incident. He said he felt relieved that the school had taken measures to ensure the children's safety.

Dozens of parents crowded in front of the school's closed gate. Each was required to sign an agreement to take their children home.

Children whose parents did not show up stayed for lunch, which the school provided, said a teacher who gave his name as Wang.

Xiang Bo, a Changsha police spokesman, said the department had no further comment on Friday afternoon.