The Hammer on the Footbridge

At about 9 p.m. on Oct. 17, 2026, Wang Bian was at his barbecue stall on the pedestrian-and-vehicle overpass on Jianbei First Branch Road in Guanyinqiao, Chongqing. The stall had been there about a week. Smoke, phone cameras and fans had narrowed the walkway.

Witness Qi saw a man in black come from behind Wang Bian. He wore a light baseball cap. He held a utility knife in his left hand and a hammer in his right. Fans knocked the knife away. They did not stop the hammer. Zhang chased Wang Bian and struck his head repeatedly. Qi said the attack lasted about ten minutes. Police caught Zhang on the steps of a nearby mall.

Wang Bian was taken to a hospital. He got nine stitches in his head, a fractured left palm and multiple back injuries. A fan who tried to stop the attacker was hit on the head and seriously injured. He remains in the hospital.

Three days later, on Oct. 21, Wang Bian’s reputation-rights lawsuit against Zhang was set to open in a Chongqing court.

I

A Qichacha record shows that “Jian Wanjun Culture Media” was registered in November 2025 with 100,000 yuan in capital. Jian Wanjun, Wang Bian, owned all the shares. Zhang was listed as legal representative, director and finance officer. It is not yet confirmed whether this Zhang is the same person as the defendant.

In accounts circulating online, Zhang called himself Wang Bian’s agent or legal representative. His actual role was closer to an assistant paid about 2,000 yuan a month, with extra pay for appearances. Wang Bian had promised to support him for life. They made videos together. Comment sections called them brothers. Zhang often stood beside Wang Bian at events.

When traffic was rising, titles arrived before income. Zhang treated the legal representative label like a CEO title. He ran errands for Wang Bian. He bought alcohol and cigarettes. He said he spent 10,000 yuan of his own money. Wang Bian still owed him wages and other money.

II

Wang Bian rose in 2025 by imitating the singer Wang Yuan. His main account posed as the celebrity. A second account collected tips. For a time, he used a loophole. Then fan groups organized mass reports. The platform banned linked accounts. The revenue stopped. Fame stayed. Money did not.

Wang Bian went to Changsha, then Chongqing, and opened a barbecue stall. He tended the grill alone and sold skewers. The work paid by the hour and by the skewer.

Zhang’s ledger stopped balancing. He believed he had put in time and money. He saw Wang Bian’s stall as an extension of the influencer business because fans came. He believed he deserved a share. Wang Bian appears to have seen the stall as his own work after the partnership ended.

The plan they had discussed, a main account posing as Wang Yuan and a second account collecting tips, had been killed by fan reports. Wang Bian had fame but no clear way to turn it into income. Zhang still talked about a media company. The money he spent on alcohol and cigarettes became a debt he mentioned again and again.

III

After the partnership broke, Zhang opened accounts on several platforms. He posted content meant to expose and smear Wang Bian. He used AI to make short videos with images that looked like Wang Bian. He threatened to expose Wang Bian’s underage girlfriend. Wang Bian sued for reputation rights. The case was set for Oct. 21, 2026, in a Chongqing court.

The lawsuit moved forward. Zhang’s posts did not stop. He shared quarrelsome chat logs. He teased that he would “hammer” Wang Bian. Accounts circulating online say he believed Wang Bian did not deserve his fame and that bringing Wang Bian down would move that fame to him.

Wang Bian kept selling skewers. Fans came to support him. People watched, took photos and bought food. The overpass grew crowded. Nearby shopkeepers said the crowds had affected traffic.

IV

On the evening of Oct. 17, Zhang came to the overpass. He had a utility knife in his left hand and a hammer in his right. He rushed out from behind Wang Bian’s stall. Fans stopped the knife. The hammer hit Wang Bian’s head. The chase and beating lasted about ten minutes. A fan who tried to intervene was hit on the head and seriously injured.

Police detained Zhang. They have not released a full account of the incident or a motive. A statement from Wang Bian’s lawyer said Zhang had worked with Wang Bian before, called himself an agent or legal representative during that time, and that the partnership broke down after the account was canceled and income collapsed. The reputation-rights case may be delayed because of the attack.

Zhang carried two weapons. He attacked from behind. He acted three days before a scheduled hearing. Those facts can count as evidence of planning and as aggravating factors in sentencing. Repeated hammer blows to the head may raise charges of intentional injury or attempted intentional homicide, depending on the injury assessment and the court’s reading of intent.

If Zhang believed Wang Bian owed him money, he could have sued. If he disputed partnership income, there were procedures for company equity, wages and partnership disputes. The reputation-rights case was already on the court calendar. Zhang chose to act before the hearing, on the overpass, with a hammer.

V

Wang Bian is in the hospital with nine stitches in his head and a fractured left palm. The fan who stopped the knife is also in the hospital with a serious head injury. Zhang is in custody and waiting for the legal process. The reputation-rights case may be postponed.

The overpass carried pedestrians and vehicles the next day. The barbecue stall was closed. The crowd was gone. Phone cameras pointed elsewhere. Nearby shopkeepers kept working. Traffic returned to that stretch of road.

Zhang once believed he stood at the start of a media company. He bought Wang Bian alcohol and cigarettes, spent 10,000 yuan and called it an investment. When Wang Bian was popular, they made videos together and comment sections called them brothers. Wang Bian did not make big money, but he made a name. Zhang made neither money nor a name. He lost 10,000 yuan and a salary.

He hated Wang Bian for taking everything from him. The hatred did not match the facts. Zhang had built a title out of a legal role and a future out of traffic. When the traffic stopped, he looked for someone to blame. On the overpass, he found Wang Bian.

The hammer is now evidence. Wang Bian is in a hospital bed. Zhang is in custody. The court date is still on the calendar, unless it is delayed.