One child killed and dozens injured in attacks at two schools in China
Victims, aged about eight, suffered head wounds, with two of them seriously injured
One child was killed and dozens injured on Monday in separate attacks on schools in two Chinese provinces, raising fears over a resurgence in such violence and concerns over campus safety.
A man armed with a large knife injured at least 10 primary school children at a school in Haikou city, Hainan province, at about 11am before killing himself, mainland media reported.
About an hour later a man thought to be a retired government official drove his jeep into a crowd of students at a secondary school in Nanyang, Henan province, killing one and injuring 10.
Police in both cases are still investigating the suspects’ motives, but the style of the attacks has raised fears that security measures at schools across the country – stepped up after a series of knife and axe attacks in recent years – remain inadequate.
READ MORE: Knifeman in Henan attacks primary school children
Chinese schools were hit by a rash of stabbings about five years ago, mainly carried out by people with mental health issues. In one of the deadliest cases, in 2010, a man killed eight children at an elementary school in Fujian.
In the first attack yesterday, six boys and four girls aged between eight and 10 were attacked next to the gate of the Haikou Yangfan Primary School. All suffered head injuries and two of them were seriously injured, China News Service reported.
The owner of a noodle shop across the road from the school saw the man randomly chopping at pupils as they left the school for their lunch break. He said the weapon was the distinctive coconut knife commonly seen in the province, and it was more than 20cm long.
One witness quoted by the Beijing News said the first victim was a boy. “His head was chopped open and blood streamed out,” said the witness.
A video taken by the witness showed the boy sitting on the ground with a scarf covering his head, waiting to be rescued.
READ MORE: ‘Left-behind children’ found stabbed to death in southern China
Blood stains and abandoned belongings such as shoes could be seen lying on the ground outside the school.
Police later sealed off the area around the school.
The suspect was identified as Li Xijun, 45, from Chengmai of Hainan. Footage from the scene shows him lying in a lane about 30 metres from the school, unconscious. He is thought to have killed himself.
The children were taken to hospital, with two being treated for serious injuries that were not life threatening, CCTV said.
It said police were investigating a “vicious criminal case brought on by extreme actions”.
In the second attack, the Nanyang city government said a man driving a jeep had run over students at a secondary school killing one and injuring ten.
Henan Daily identified the attacker as Ma Gaochao, a retired cadre.
Additional reporting by Reuters, Associated Press
