A lawyer representing the mother of a man shot to death in a rail station in northeastern China, a case that has garnered headlines nationwide and raised questions around the police's use of lethal force, was beaten by an alleged mob in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The Beijng Times reported that Xie Yang, the lawyer, was beaten by over 20 unidentified people with rods and knife in Jiangnan district in the city of Nanning, capital of Guangxi.

Qin Yongpei, a man who witnessed the incident, told the Global Times that the people were gang members. Xie's right leg was broken, while seven others were also injured. Xie is being treated in a hospital in Nanning.

Qin said that Xie and several other lawyers on the scene called the police multiple times, but that police did not respond. The public security bureau of Jiangnan district refused to comment, telling the Global Times that the case remains under investigation.

Xie is the lawyer representing the mother of Xu Chunhe, who was shot to death on May 2 in Qing'an, Heilongjiang Province.

The shooting drew wide condemnation, and is currently under investigation by the Ministry of Public Security.

Qin, who is also a lawyer, said he invited Xie to Nanning to help him with a commercial case involving a dispute between a local construction material company and another company. Xie was trying to collect evidence on Sunday night before the arrival of "gang members."

The news of Xie's beating soon spread online and triggered suspicions that he was being "warned" for taking on the Qing'an shooting case. But many other netizens said the two cases are completely unrelated, having happened in two separate places.