Police in China are looking for eight suspects after the deadly Tiananmen Square car crash on Monday that claimed the life of five people and injuring dozens more.
As previously reported, a car crashed in the Square and left five dead and 38 injured. After the car crashed near the Gate, it soon went up in flames. The driver and two passengers were three of the dead.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying declined on Monday to speculate if the crash was really a terror attack. There is speculation that China may have changed its mind after police sent out a note. In the note to Beijing hotels, the police gave the description of a car and four license plates, BBC News reports.
Before the car crashed, it was being chased by the police, who immediately closed off the north end of the Square. They also detained a BBC crew that was taking video of the scene. There were also reports that social media was being heavily censored after the attack with pictures and comments getting deleted.
According to USA Today, several suspects on the notice sent to the hotels look to be Ulghurs. Ulghurs, who are Muslim, are known to be frustrated with China as Han have moved into the area. They feel that Beijing's rule over their area is repressive.
Alim Seytoff, a spokesperson in D.C. from the World Uyghur Congress, says that it's "highly unlikely that some Uyghurs could pull off something like this in the most securely-guarded square in China." Seytoff noted that the notice from the police "should not be taken as the evidence of Uyghur involvement in the incident."
image: Wikimedia Commons
