DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa leaders are responding after four Cornell College instructors were stabbed in China Monday.
Cornell College President Jonathan Brand in a statement said the instructors were at the park with a faculty member from Beihua University when the attack occurred. Cornell spokesperson Jen Visser in an email said the private school in Mount Vernon partners with Beihua University near Jilin City in eastern China. A college news release from 2018, when the program started, says Beihua provides funding for Cornell professors to travel to China to teach a portion of courses in computer science, mathematics and physics over a two-week period.
Jilin City police said a 55-year-old man surnamed Cui was walking in a public park on Monday when he bumped into the four teachers. He proceeded to stab all four people and also stabbed a Chinese person who approached in an attempt to intervene, police said.
A police statement did not give any indication of the motive for the attack. The college said no students were involved in the attack.
The injured were rushed to a hospital for treatment and none was in critical condition, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a daily briefing Tuesday. He said police believe the attack in Jilin City's Beishan Park was an isolated incident, based on a preliminary assessment, and the investigation is ongoing.
One of the instructors, David Zabner, is the brother of an Iowa state representative. Rep. Adam Zabner posted a statement on social media saying his brother is recovering after he was stabbed in the arm while visiting a temple. He said his brother is a doctoral student at Tufts University who was in China under the Cornell-Beihua relationship.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and several members of the state's congressional delegation posted on social media that they were working with officials to assist in any way possible, including in bringing the instructors home.
U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, who represents Iowa, made the following statement on X, formerly known as Twitter. News 8 did reach out to Ernst and Iowa's other senator, Chuck Grassley, for interviews on Tuesday but were sent statements due to busy schedules.
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley
“As soon as Senator Grassley learned of the incident, his staff reached out to their contacts at the State Department for any information they could provide. We are in touch with Cornell College, and two of the affected Iowa families have taken the necessary steps for Senator Grassley’s office to engage from a casework standpoint. The U.S. Consulate General in Shenyang has confirmed to Senator Grassley that it’s working to advocate for the attack victims, with the Consul General planning a personal meeting with them at the hospital. Senator Grassley stands ready to assist.”
Here are responses from other Iowa leaders posted on social media.