A Suspicious and Deadly Incident Near Tiananmen Square

It is still unclear exactly what transpired Oct. 28 near Beijing's Tiananmen Square, but the incident appears to have been a deliberate attack and occurs in the lead-up to the Communist Party Central Committee's third plenary session, a symbolic event in which the Party is poised to launch major economic reforms. According to Chinese media and Reuters, which provided only scant details, a car drove onto the sidewalk and caught fire in front of the Tiananmen Rostrum at 12:05 p.m. local time. Pictures circulating on the social media site Weibo show a light-colored SUV with a roof rack and the back half in flames sitting near the bridge to the Forbidden City.