A fight between street vendors Hebir Turdi and Memet Abla at a vegetable market in Changsha, Central China's Hunan Province, caught the nation's attention on Friday.

After stabbing Abla to death, Turdi engaged in a killing spree, leaving four passersby dead before being shot dead by police.

Authorities did not disclose the origin of the murderer, but many believe they are Uyghurs, judging from the name reported by the Xinhua News Agency.

Crimes involving stabbing and innocent deaths occur in urban areas throughout the country. But people tend to be more nervous when learning that the culprits are from Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, an area threatened by religious extremism and terrorism.

It is plausible that the majority of the general public has been resisting the temptation to exaggerate the sentiments against Uyghurs as a whole. The media did not highlight the suspect's ethnicity when reporting the incident, for fear of exacerbating already sensitive ethnic relations.

This is a precious sense of responsibility with the nation's solidarity in mind. Whether it is an organized terror act or an isolated crime, we should not let it hurt the solidarity between various ethnic groups, nor give people with political agendas any chance to achieve their goals.

We should look down on those criminals or terrorists, not fear them.

In modern society, it is difficult to prevent a sudden breakout of fatal attacks. Although authorities try to maintain the public order at huge cost, it is impossible to ensure zero murders.

Whenever an attack occurs, the social impact is enormous. But the nation has to face up to such incidents in a calm and reasonable manner. Although media reports have downplayed the ethnic aspect in Friday's incident in Changsha, many people still cannot resist thinking or talking about it. It is hard to give up such thoughts, but we must try harder.

People of other ethnic groups should keep normal contacts with Uyghur people, and try hard to avoid misunderstanding resulting from recent incidents involving Uyghurs. This rationality has to be turned into action for all of us.

China has more than 50 ethnic groups. Ethnic integration will be tested during the nation's modernization process. Hostile forces at home and abroad have been trying to amplify the impact of attacks involving different ethnic groups, in a bid to split the nation. It will be very dangerous for us if we fall into that trap.

We have to remain calm in the face of major incidents. Changsha police set a good example by shooting the killer to death at the scene, which will deter similar crimes involving the random killing of innocent members of the public. This will bring confidence in public security.