The Iowa City-born Cornell lecturer who was attacked in China is on his way home

The brother of an Iowa lawmaker was one of four instructors injured in a knife attack in the park

One of the four Cornell College professors who were stabbed to death on Monday in the northeastern Chinese city of Jilin where they were teaching is on his way home.

Iowa City Democratic state Rep. Adam Zabner said his 33-year-old brother, David Zabner, also of Iowa City, was released from the hospital in Jilin City late Wednesday night and is on the flight home.

Adam Zabner said his brother, a doctoral student at Tufts University who previously taught at Cornell University, was stabbed in the arm while visiting a temple in the city of Jilin.

“He is doing well and we are grateful for the medical care he received in China,” Adam Zabner said in a statement to The Gazette. “We would also like to thank Beihua University and Cornell College for all their support.”

His brother and other faculty members taught as part of a partnership program between Cornell and Beihua University, Cornell University President Jonathan Brand said in a statement.

The lecturers were accompanied by a faculty member from Beihua at the time of the attack, Brand added. According to a Cornell spokeswoman, no students from the small liberal arts college in Mount Vernon were participating in the program at the time.

Jilin city police said Tuesday that a 55-year-old suspect had been arrested. Authorities identified the suspect only by his surname, Cui. Police said he “collided with a foreigner while walking” in Beishan Park. The suspect then stabbed the teachers as well as a Chinese tourist who stepped forward to intervene, a police statement said.

The statement did not provide any information about the motive for the attack.

The injured were taken to hospital for treatment. The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday that none of the foreign nationals had been seriously injured. According to preliminary assessments, this was an “isolated case”.

Further investigations are still ongoing, said a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

The attack came amid tensions over trade and international issues such as Taiwan, the South China Sea and the war in Ukraine, with both Beijing and Washington seeking to expand people-to-people exchanges to strengthen ties.

“We are grateful that David survived this attack and is recovering well,” said Adam Zabner. “We look forward to seeing him again soon.”

He thanked the staff of the US State Department and the US Consulate in Shenyang, who “have been an incredible support during this difficult time.”

In recent days, his family has also received support from the office of Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as the offices of U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley and U.S. Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks, he said. He also thanked Nicholas Burns, the U.S. ambassador to China.

“I am deeply grateful for their commitment to bringing David home,” Zabner said. “… It is not our job to share information about David’s colleagues, but we are thinking of them and hope that they too can come home soon.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report

CComments: (319) 398-8499; [email protected]