Four Cornell College instructors in Iowa injured in stabbing incident in China, school says

Four instructors from an Iowa college who were visiting their partner university were injured Monday in a park in northeast China in a stabbing incident, according to a school spokesperson.

Instructors at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, were in a public park with a faculty member from their partner institution when they were injured “in a serious incident,” the school's president said , Jonathan Brand, in a press release to the university community.

“We have been in contact with all four instructors and are helping them during this time,” Brand said.

School spokeswoman Jen Visser told CNN that the stabbing incident occurred in the city of Jilin and that the partner school was Beihua University.

The US State Department is aware of reports of a stabbing incident in China and is monitoring the situation, according to a spokesperson.

No students were participating in the program, according to the school.

Ashley Hinson, Iowa Representativewho represents the district where the college is located, said in a post on X that the four college employees “were brutally stabbed.”

“My team is in communication with Cornell College and will do everything in our power to get these Iowans home safely,” Hinson said. “Join me in praying for their health and safety. »

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds said, “I am in contact with the Iowa federal delegation and the Department of State in response to this horrific attack. Please pray for their full recovery, safe return and their families here at home.

Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst also said her team was “closely following reports that staff members at Cornell College in Mt. Vernon were stabbed in China.”

“We are in contact with the college and the Department of State and stand ready to further assist these Iowans.” Praying for a speedy recovery for all,” she said. X.

Cornell College is a private four-year school where enrollment for the 2022-2023 academic year was 1,074 students and the student-to-faculty ratio was 13:1.

The school's main majors that year were biochemistry, kinesiology, engineering, computer science and politics. The college's academic calendar is divided into 18-day blocks in which students take one course at a time.

The campus is about two hours east of Des Moines.

CNN's Steve Almasy and Rashard Rose contributed to this report.

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