I don’t see anything in the article that states the attack started that morning. It says that i was “first noticed” early Friday morning:

According to remarks by St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, the attack was first noticed early in the morning of Friday, July 25.

I’m not arguing it’s China, just that I didn’t see anything indicating they know when the attack started

OP’s description of trying to pull the key out when it broke, makes me think the key may also be bound/frozen in the lock. I don’t think you’re supposed to use wet lubricants in a lock, but they may need to use a penetrating lubricant (like wd-40) along with the dental pick.

I don’t think I’ve used ^superscript or _subscript on Lemmy. Kinda didn’t know they existed. And now I want an _excuse to use them^{… So I’m just going to make this comment…}

Edit: I’ve been on Lemmy for over two years. The “new user” icon makes me sad. RIP lemm.ee.