CNN
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The death of a teenager has sparked violent protests in China, with accusations of a cover-up by authorities, according to a video from northwestern Shaanxi province.
Video reviewed by CNN shows dozens of protesters confronting a wall of riot police outside Pucheng Vocational Technical School and throwing batons and other weapons at officers.
One of the protesters was also seen throwing a fire extinguisher at the door, breaking the glass. In response, police were seen aggressively dealing with the protesters, punching some and throwing others to the ground.
The protests were triggered by the death of a third-year student at the school, a teenager named Dunn. Local authorities in Urajo maintain that Mr. Dunn’s death on January 2 was an accident and not a crime, but suspicions of a cover-up have swirled on social media.
Chinese authorities are particularly wary of public protests in the country following widespread “White Paper” demonstrations in late 2022 against the Chinese government’s hard-line policies during the coronavirus pandemic. are.
According to a statement from investigators posted on the Uragaki prefecture government’s website, Dan had a “verbal and physical altercation” with a first-year student named Guo over “disturbing his rest” in the dormitory. “I did it.” School officials helped resolve the altercation that night.
Around 3 a.m., another student in Dunn’s dormitory went to the bathroom and found a wooden chair under the balcony window, the statement said.
“The sliding window was open and the wire mesh had been removed. Mr. Dunn had already fallen through the window to the ground below,” he said.
US-based activist group Human Rights in China reported “suspicious circumstances” leading to Mr Dunn’s death, including “signs of a struggle in Mr Dunn’s dormitory”. It also includes eyewitness reports and suggestions that Mr Dunne was “thrown off the roof”.
The group said Dunn’s family rejected an official explanation for his death. The family also claimed that photos were deleted from his phone, according to Reuters. The family’s suspicions were widely amplified on social media.
It is unclear whether the protests, which began on Monday, continued throughout the week.
CNN called the Public Security Bureau of Pucheng County and the Public Security Bureau of Weinan City, which is part of the prefecture, but there was no response.
