HONG KONG — Six people were killed and one wounded Monday in a knife attack at a kindergarten in southern China.
A 25-year-old man surnamed Wu was arrested on suspicion of carrying out an “intentional attack” in Lianjiang county in Guangdong province, local police said in a statement. The attack occurred around 7:40 a.m. local time (7:40 p.m. ET).
The victims included three students, two parents and a teacher, Agence France-Presse reported, citing a city government spokeswoman. A Lianjiang police spokesman told AFP the attack was a stabbing.
The municipal education office told NBC News that the attack was still under investigation. The local police office declined to comment and calls to the local publicity department were returned.
Violent crime is rare in China, which has strict gun laws. But a series of knife attacks targeting children in recent years has raised public concern about school safety and prompted the government to pledge action.
Monday’s attack was the top-trending discussion on Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter, where it had been viewed more than 400 million times by afternoon.
“Why do similar cases keep happening in China?” a post read.
Last August, a 48-year-old man killed three people and injured six others at a kindergarten in the southern province of Jiangxi.
In April 2021, a man with a knife attacked a kindergarten in the southern region of Guangxi, killing two children and injuring 16 other students and teachers.
In June 2020, a knife-wielding security guard injured 39 people, almost all of them students, at the Guangxi primary school where he worked.
In November 2019, a man scaled the wall of a kindergarten in the southwestern province of Yunnan and attacked it with sodium hydroxide, leaving more than 50 children with burns.
In October 2018, a 39-year-old woman injured 14 children with a kitchen knife at a kindergarten in the southwestern city of Chongqing.
Chinese authorities have tightened security at schools since a series of attacks in 2010.
Wen Jiabao, China’s premier at the time, told state media that the government would not only strengthen security but also address the root causes of the attacks.
The attacks, which are often carried out by people with mental health problems, have also sparked discussions about mental health in China, where people often face barriers to accessing care in part due to social stigma.
zhenzhen liu contributed.
