Wang Xiwen was a Han Chinese born in 1948. By adulthood, he had become a police officer at the Sucao police station of the Handan municipal public security sub-bureau in Hebei Province. His early career saw him promoted to brigade militia company commander and later vice chairman of the brigade revolutionary committee. However, his personal and political life soon took a turn toward bitterness and resentment.

Wang lost his leadership role after refusing to comply with China’s family planning policy, along with his wife, Hao Jinfang. This dismissal, which he saw as unjust, deepened his hostility toward local leadership.

Beyond personal grievances, Wang was politically aligned with the radical faction within the Chinese Communist Party. He was a staunch follower of Lin Biao and the Gang of Four, both disgraced after the Cultural Revolution. Even after the 3rd Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee in 1978, when China shifted toward reform, Wang continued to criticize CCP leaders and advocate for the purged faction’s policies.

On the evening of November 17, 1980, 32-year-old Wang Xiwen launched a violent rampage in Handan, Hebei Province. His attack came just days before the highly publicized trials of the Gang of Four.

Wang began by breaking into the office of deputy director Song Tiefa and director Li Qingsheng. He pried open a drawer, stealing a pistol, 25 rounds of ammunition, 200 yuan, and 300 pounds of ration stamps. In an act of symbolic defiance, he destroyed political icons: smashing a ceramic bust of Mao Zedong and firing eleven shots at portraits of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Zhou Enlai, and Zhu De.

Next, Wang escalated the situation by breaking into the second brigade armory in northern Handan. He armed himself heavily, seizing a light machine gun, eight rifles, 28 hand grenades, and approximately 2,700 rounds of ammunition. Armed to the teeth, he began a six-hour spree of violence across the city.

Wang roamed the streets of Handan, shooting indiscriminately and hurling grenades. He repeatedly returned to the armory to resupply. By the end of his rampage, he had fired 460 rounds and detonated 26 grenades. The attack left six people dead on the spot, one more fatally wounded, and twelve injured. In addition to human casualties, Wang killed two pigs, destroyed two television sets, and even damaged a transformer.

Among the identified victims were:

• Guo Huimin, a temporary worker
• Guo Qingxuan, member of the Sucao second brigade
• Li Fushan, a factory worker
• Li Liuzhu, captain of the Sucao second brigade
• Lu Yingkui, a miner

Wang was eventually overpowered and arrested the same night.

The Handan City Public Security Bureau completed its investigation by January 13, 1981, transferring the case to the Handan Prefectural Intermediate People’s Court. However, due to insufficient evidence, the case was returned for further review. After re-investigation, it was resubmitted on March 26. On April 9, 1981, Wang was sentenced to death for counterrevolutionary activities and stripped of political rights for life.

Wang appealed, claiming insanity during the attack. The Hebei Provincial Higher People’s Court sent him to a psychiatric hospital in Baoding for evaluation. Doctors declared him legally sane. On May 9, the judicial committee upheld his conviction. On May 26, the Supreme People’s Court affirmed the ruling.

On June 10, 1981, Wang’s final appeal was denied. In a massive public trial held at the Handan Municipal Stadium before 50,000 spectators, he was blindfolded, bound to a pole, and executed by firing squad. His execution was carried out immediately after the verdict was read