ISTANBUL 

At least four US college instructors and a local tourist sustained non-life-threatening injuries in a knife attack in northeastern China, officials confirmed.

The attack was reported on Monday in the city of Jilin in the province of the same name, where the instructors were associated with Beihua University.

Jilin police said they had detained a 55-year-old suspect “who collided with a foreign national while walking in Beishan Park,” Chinese state media reported.

The suspect then “attacked this foreign national and three other accompanying foreign nationals with a knife, as well as a Chinese tourist who attempted to stop him,” said police.

Footage from the incident site shows the four instructors bleeding and lying on the ground.

“I am in touch with Iowa’s federal delegation and the (US) State Department in response to this horrifying attack,” said Kim Reynolds, governor of the US state of Iowa, where the instructors came from.

They were sent by Iowa’s Cornell College, which has had a cooperative relationship with Beihua University since 2018.

Almost all visuals as well as discussion of the incident has since been removed from social media in China.

Hu Xijin, a Chinese journalist known for his commentary on security issues, “condemned” the attack.

“Regardless of the attacker’s motive, this incident is an isolated case in the broader context of Chinese society. Chinese public’s general sentiment toward foreign tourists in marketplaces and tourist spots is friendly,” he said on X.

China’s Foreign Ministry said the incident “would not affect normal cultural exchanges between China and the US.”

Notably, China reported at least three knife attacks last month in which 13 people were killed, in the provinces of Hubei, Yunnan, and Hunan.​​​​​​​