Yang Zanyun was born in 1964 in the People’s Republic of China. By the time he committed his crime in 2018, he was 54 years old. Not much has been publicly shared about his early life, family background, or education, but records indicate that Yang had lived a life outside the law for many years. He had a lengthy criminal history that included charges for drug trafficking, theft, and violent assault.

He was reportedly unemployed and living off interest income from private loans. Whether this financial situation was comfortable or precarious remains unclear. However, what became obvious through the government’s investigation was that Yang had grown embittered over time. Officials stated that he held a desire for "revenge on society," though the specific triggers for this grudge were never made public in detail.

On the evening of September 12, 2018, at approximately 7:35 p.m., Yang Zanyun carried out one of the deadliest vehicle-ramming attacks in modern China. Driving a Land Rover SUV, he deliberately accelerated into a crowded square in Mishui, a town in Hengyang, Hunan Province. The square was busy with pedestrians at the time, and Yang’s vehicle struck numerous people with lethal force.

After plowing through the crowd, Yang did not stop. Witnesses reported that once his SUV came to a halt, he exited the vehicle and began attacking survivors with a shovel and a knife, further escalating the brutality. The scene was chaotic and horrifying, as people scrambled for safety while others lay injured or dead. In total, 15 people were killed, and 43 others were injured, many of them severely.

Yang was apprehended shortly after the attack. Given the severity and public nature of the crime, Chinese authorities moved swiftly. Investigators quickly uncovered Yang’s long criminal background and determined that he had acted out of a personal vendetta against society. It was not categorized as terrorism, but rather as a violent act of revenge rooted in personal grievances.

On December 12, 2018, less than three months after the attack, Yang Zanyun was convicted and sentenced to death. The court also revoked his political rights for life, a standard component of capital sentences in China. His execution was approved by the Supreme People's Court, and he was executed on January 29, 2019, just six weeks after sentencing.