Solved case · 2003
The short answer
On 18 February 2003, Guo Zhongmin killed 13 people across three homes in Gaoheshanggou village, Huludao, China, in an attack stemming from a land dispute, before dying by suicide five days later as police closed in.
No one's coverage is attached to this file yet.
Know great coverage of this case?
A documentary, a podcast episode, a careful long-form video. Suggest it and an editor will review it before it appears here.
Suggest coverage for 2003 Huludao murdersOn 18 February 2003, a mass killing occurred in Gaoheshanggou village, part of Yangjiao Township in Huludao's Lianshan district, Liaoning, China. Thirteen people across three households were killed in a combined stabbing and bludgeoning attack that lasted approximately one hour.
The perpetrator, 36-year-old Guo Zhongmin, had been involved in a zoning dispute with a neighbour, Zhang Baohua, over the construction of a vegetable greenhouse. Zhang sued Guo and won the case in court. Guo reportedly harbored a grudge afterward and came to believe that two other neighbours, Liu Changrui and Guo Zhongren, had supported Zhang during the legal proceedings.
On the day of the attack, Guo sent his wife and children away beforehand. In the afternoon, armed with a kitchen knife and a wooden stick, he entered the homes of his neighbours in succession. Eight people were killed at the residence of Liu Changrui, three at the residence of Guo Zhongren, and two at the residence of Zhang Baohua. Most victims showed signs of both bludgeoning and stabbing, with deaths attributed to head trauma or stab wounds to the head and torso. Guo sustained a cut to his left hand while fleeing the scene.
Huludao Municipal Public Security Bureau formed an investigative committee roughly 30 minutes after the crime was reported, and officers were dispatched to protect surviving relatives of the victims, including the family of Zhang Baohua. A Class A arrest warrant was issued, with Guo's photograph and description distributed for broadcast and publication, and security checks were established at transport hubs across Huludao's districts and counties. More than 1,000 officers of the Liaoning Provincial Public Security Bureau took part in the manhunt.
Over the following days, Guo travelled on foot through Lianshan district, receiving treatment for his hand at a clinic, begging for food, and, in one instance, threatening a household to obtain food, clothing, and money. He later stole pesticide and a bicycle from an acquaintance's store before fleeing the city, prompting police to alert public security bureaus in neighbouring Anshan and Jinzhou in anticipation that he would attempt to cross the provincial border into Hebei.
On 23 February 2003, Guo was located at a train station in Shahe Town, Suizhong County. As police moved to arrest him, he ingested pesticide he was carrying and died at the scene despite resuscitation attempts.
Guo Zhongmin attacks and kills 13 people across three households in Gaoheshanggou village, Huludao.
Guo is reported at a clinic in Beidi village near Gangtun, where he receives a bandage for his hand.
Guo receives food after begging at a house in Beigou village.
Guo breaks into a home in Yangjiao Township and obtains food, clothing, and money after threatening the homeowner's family.
Guo steals pesticide and a bicycle from a store in Huludao before fleeing the city.
Guo is located at the train station in Shahe Town, Suizhong County, and dies by suicide by ingesting pesticide as police close in.
Victims first. Every legal label is set from public records and court outcomes, not from the prose.
Killed in the attack; cousin of the perpetrator.[3]
Killed in the attack; brother-in-law of Zhang Baohua.[3]
Killed in the attack, aged 62.[3]
Killed in the attack, aged 59; wife of Liu Changrui.[3]
Killed in the attack, aged 24; daughter of Liu Changrui.[3]
Killed in the attack, aged 39; daughter of Liu Changrui.[3]
Killed in the attack; neighbour whose lawsuit against the perpetrator preceded the killings.[3]
Identified as the perpetrator of the killings; died by suicide before facing formal prosecution.[3]
Coverage is not a source: every fact in this file rests on the records below.
Are you family of someone named in this file? Corrections and removal requests from victims’ families are prioritized.
Credit: si.robiCC BY-SA 2.0SourceUNSOLVEDListenBeijing, China · 2021
In November 2021, Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai posted an allegation on Weibo that retired Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli had pressured her into sex, then vanished from public communication as censors erased the post, prompting a global campaign over her safety and a temporary WTA suspension of events in China.
Credit: WQLCC BY-SA 3.0SourceSOLVEDListenGuilin West Street, Pubei Road, near Shanghai World Foreign Language Primary School, Xuhui District · 2018
On 28 June 2018, a man stabbed four people near Shanghai World Foreign Language Primary School, killing two boys and injuring another boy and a parent. The attacker, Huang Yichuan, was arrested at the scene and executed in December 2020 after being convicted of intentional homicide.
Credit: 40fifw0Public domainSourceSOLVEDListenKunming Railway Station, Kunming, Yunnan, China · 2014
On 1 March 2014, five knife-wielding attackers killed 31 people and wounded 143 at Kunming Railway Station in China. Four attackers were shot dead by police and one was captured; investigators linked the attack to a Xinjiang separatist group, with thirteen people ultimately implicated.
Credit: DidaictorCC BY-SA 4.0SourceSOLVEDListenZhuhai Sports Center, Zhuhai, Guangdong, China · 2024
On 11 November 2024, a 62-year-old man drove an SUV into a crowd of exercisers at the Zhuhai Sports Center in Guangdong, China, killing 38 people and injuring 48. He was sentenced to death in December 2024 and executed in January 2025.
Credit: English Wikipedia ; portrait originally published by Yangtse Evening PostEditorial useSourceUNSOLVEDListenNanjing University (Gulou campus) and surrounding areas, Nanjing · 1996
In January 1996, the dismembered remains of 19-year-old Nanjing University student Diao Aiqing were discovered scattered across multiple sites in Nanjing, China. The case remains unsolved decades later.
COLDListenTiananmen Square, Beijing · 2001
On 23 January 2001, five people set themselves on fire in Tiananmen Square; Chinese authorities said they were Falun Gong practitioners, but Falun Gong representatives and some journalists disputed this account, and the incident remains the subject of unresolved dispute.
