Man who set off homemade explosive in Shenyang police station was 'pessimistic': Authorities

A man who authorities said set off a homemade explosive in a police station in Shenyang, Northeast China's Liaoning province on Thursday that injured three and killed him was a pessimistic person and was once imprisoned for raping a minor, police said on Saturday.

At 1:51 pm Thursday, the suspect, surnamed Yang, 63, set fire to the Shenyang Public Security Bureau's traffic police department, injuring three, including two police personnel. The suspect died at the scene, local police said in a statement.

Yang, who was from Shenyang, caused the blast by setting off an explosive device made using a firecracker. He put the firecracker in a trolley case with gasoline, according to the statement.

At present, the three injured victims are in stable condition and receiving treatment, the statement said.

Police learned that previously the suspect was given a sentence of seven years for raping a juvenile girl and fired from work. In 2015, he was caught in a hit-and-run and received a 20-day administrative detention. At the time of his death, he hadn't paid compensation to the victim.

From October 2015 to October 2018, Yang was subject to administrative penalties for driving a motor tricycle without a license and plate, and hindering police from performing their duties, according to the statement.

The suspect's family and a friend said that Yang was superstitious, and believed he wouldn't live to 60. He became pessimistic and had been thinking of suicide, the statement said.

Yang, who was absent-minded and had experienced abnormal emotions recently, had threatened to kill his wife before dying in the blast. On March 10 and March 27, Yang left notes to his relatives, saying he was going to die, the police statement said.