A man has detonated explosives near a university president in eastern China, killing himself and possibly injuring the president in an apparent suicide bombing, media reports said Thursday.
The Netease news website and other sites said the motive for the attack Monday on the president of Tianjin Normal University wasn't clear.
The attacker was variously described as an area resident embroiled in a property or monetary dispute with the university, or as the operator of a shop on the school's campus who was angry that the university had refused to renew his lease.
Homemade bombs are often used in violent disputes in China because firearms are tightly controlled.
Calls to the university seeking comment were referred to a spokesman's office where the phone rang unanswered. No one answered at Tianjin police headquarters or at public security offices in Xiqing district where the university is located.
The attack was also reported on the overseas-based Boxun website, along with numerous blogs.
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