Iowa City native, Cornell instructor who was attacked in China is on his way home

One of four Cornell College instructors stabbed Monday in the northeast China city of Jilin, where they were teaching, is on his way home.

State Rep. Adam Zabner, D-Iowa City, said his 33-year-old brother, David Zabner, who also is from Iowa City, was discharged from the hospital in Jilin City and on a flight home late Wednesday.

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

“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 also want to thank Beihua University and Cornell College for all of their support.”

His brother and other instructors were teaching as part of a partnership program between the Mount Vernon college and Beihua University in China, Jonathan Brand, Cornell’s president, said in a statement.

The instructors had been accompanied by a faculty member from Beihua at the time of the attack, Brand added. No students from the small liberal arts college were taking part in the program at the time, according to the college.

The U.S. State Department on Thursday said all three U.S. citizens who were stabbed have received medical treatment, and that it was assisting the other two return to the United States.

“We are in touch with local authorities and are closely monitoring the situation,” the department said in statement to The Gazette.

The State Department continues to discourage Americans from visiting China. It issued a travel advisory in April warning of the risk of wrongful detention of U.S. nationals, citing arbitrary detentions as well as exit bans that could prevent Americans from leaving the country. The Level 3 travel advisory urges Americans to “reconsider travel” to mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.

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

The statement did not give any indication of the motive for the attack.

The injured were rushed to a hospital for treatment. China's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that none of the foreign nationals were critically injured in what it said appeared to be “an isolated incident based on preliminary assessment.”

Further investigation was still underway, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.

The attack happened as both Beijing and Washington are seeking to expand people-to-people exchanges to help bolster relations amid tensions over trade and such international issues as Taiwan, the South China Sea and the war in Ukraine.

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

He thanked the U.S. the State Department and U.S. Consulate staff in Shenyang who “have been incredibly supportive in this difficult time.”

In the past few days, he said his family has also received assistance from Vice President Kamala Harris’ office and the offices of Iowa U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley and Iowa U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks. He also thanked Nicholas Burns, the U.S. ambassador to China.

“I am deeply thankful for their commitment to bringing David home,” Zabner said. “ … It is not our place to share information about David’s colleagues, but we are holding them in our thoughts and we hope that they can be home soon as well.”

Grassley, in a statement provided to The Gazette, said his staff remain in touch with the State Department and the victims’ families to ensure safe travel home.

“My highest priority is the health and well-being of the Iowans impacted. I hope we can welcome each of them back on American soil soon,” Grassley said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Comments: (319) 398-8499; tom.barton@thegazette.com