Knife-wielding man slashes 10 kids at school in south China

BEIJING, China – A knife-wielding man slashed 10 children outside a primary school in southern China before killing himself Monday, police said.

None of the children suffered life-threatening injuries during the attack in the southern city of Haikou, but two were seriously hurt in the attack, media reports said.

An official at Haikou’s Longhu police station said the schoolchildren were stabbed as they walked out of the Yang Fan Primary School during their lunch period. She declined to give further details, saying the case was under investigation.

Knife attacks against schoolchildren have become fewer in recent years after Chinese schools were hit by a rash of mass stabbings roughly five years ago. The attacks, mostly carried out by disaffected perpetrators with mental illnesses, sparked outrage among Chinese parents who demanded enhanced security at schools and, for a while, prompted nationwide discussion of what caused them.

Although Chinese leaders made public acknowledgments that there were underlying social tensions that contributed to the crimes, several of the incidents were censored by state media for fear of copycat attacks, while online discussions were also blocked.

In one of the deadliest cases, a 42-year-old man killed eight children at an elementary school in Fujian province in 2010.

Because of tight restrictions on gun ownership, large knives and cleavers are the most frequently used weapons in mass attacks in China.