Knife-wielding man kills two, wounds 18 in China

A knife-wielding man suspected of mental illness killed two people and injured 18 others in southern China, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Violent crime is rare in China compared with many other countries, but there has been a series of knife and axe attacks in recent years, many targeting children.

Twenty people were taken to hospital after the Sunday attack in Guizhou province and two died, Xinhua said.

It did not give information about the victims and few other details were released.

The attacker, aged 30, is in police custody and the case was under investigation, the report said.

Xinhua cited the suspect’s father as saying his son had a history of mental illness.

A man wounded 11 children with a blade at their kindergarten in the Guangxi region in January.