Mistaken For Attack, Car Accident Hurts 18 in Shanghai, China
PHOTO: Scene in Shanghai, China.
Police have confirmed that an incident of which a minivan mounted the sidewalks of downtown Shanghai, knocking down pedestrians, was an accident and does not appear to have been an intentional act.
The crash was mistaken for a terror attack or a form of intentional attack using a van as a weapon yesterday morning, as it followed the characteristics of what usually is a deliberate move to terrorize populated areas of many nations.
China has been at threat of terror groups recently, specifically ISIS of which is known for using vehicles as weapons, prompting the potential terror scare panic.
According to reports, gas cylinders in the back seat of the vehicle caught on fire as the vehicle reportedly crashed into a Starbucks cafe nearby. It left eighteen people on the ground, injured, behind it. At least three were in seriously-injured conditions.
Police, firemen and emergency military officials rushed to the scene in fear of an attack. Fireman had put out the fire rather quickly, not before photos could've been taken. Many gathered nearby to witness the incident.
Local governments had confirmed the incident was not an attack later throughout the day in the city of Shanghai, China.
Recent terror attacks using vehicles have prompted fears of virtually any car strikes to be mistaken as attacks in many different countries. Recently, a car accident in Australia left numerous injured. Numerous pedestrian injuries were reported when a vehicle crashed into civilians in Toronto. A car crashed into a bus stop in outer-London, leaving at least three dead. All of these were not attacks.
However, due to real events like the 84 dead in Nice or the 12 dead in Berlin alongside the dozens killed by vehicular ISIS attacks in London, car accidents are often times making global headlines.