Seven people injured after knifeman runs amok in the street in southern China
Suspect, who also held girl at knifepoint in Guangzhou, appeared mentally ill, according to one witness
Seven people including children were injured after a knifeman attacked people in the street in southern China and briefly held a young girl hostage, a newspaper reported.
The man was seen screaming and yelling in the street in Guangzhou after 8am on Wednesday, but was at first ignored, the Southern Metropolis News reported.
About an hour later he attacked a breakfast store owner in the Haizhu district, slashing him on the head, the newspaper said.
A grandmother and her grandson in the eatery were also assaulted.
“I saw the child who suffered the most serious injury when the attacker slashed right on his forehead and sliced down to the corner of his eye. His grandmother who was holding the toddler literally froze,” one witness was quoted as saying.
The grandmother was also cut on the back and the neck, the report said.
The man then ran into the street and a street cleaner was attacked.
Police in the Haizhu district were quoted as saying that the man later seized a seven-year-old girl as a hostage, but he was overpowered about 10 minutes later.
A shopkeeper said the man was not known in the area and appeared to be mentally ill.
The suspect, aged 50, comes from Chengde in the northern province of Hebei, the report said.
Police were quoted as saying that he was unable to respond lucidly to their questions and that their investigation was continuing.