5 Police Stabbed to Death in Downtown Shanghai

According to local Chinese radio broadcasts in Shanghai, 5 police officers were stabbed to death on Tuesday July 1st sometime around 2 in the afternoon.  According to the radio reports, a total of seven people, 6 police officers and one security guard were attacked stabbed by an assailant who was trying to escape from a police station in Shanghai's up and coming Zhabei District.  The identity of the assailant is not public but according to reports, the man was from Beijing and was a fugitive that has been pursued by the authorities for sometime.  According to news agencies the man was arrested for stealing a bike.

According to most Shanghainese, this is the first time that such an event has happened here.  When asked how they felt about safety in Shanghai, people said that although there is more crime in recent years they felt that Shanghai was still very safe and that this was an isolated incident.  Some people have commented that as Shanghai develops more crime will become commonplace as the divide between the wealthy and the poor increases.

The internet phenomenon - What is notable is that within minutes of the event, internet chatter in Shanghai went haywire with various conflicting reports of the incident. Chat rooms and BBS immediately spread word of what had happened. 

Also interesting are the number of conflicting reports over the story.  According to the AFP, Five policemen were killed, in an incident involving 9 people, while the Shanghai Daily reports 4 dead in a stabbing of 7.