On the 10th of July, around six people, including three children, were killed in a horrifying attack at a kindergarten school in China’s south-eastern province, Guangdong. One person was also reportedly injured in this attack.
A spokeswoman for the city government informed that the victims include one teacher, two parents, and three students, reported AFP.
She added that one suspect has been arrested so far and the police investigation was underway. However, she didn’t reveal any details about the identities and ages of the victims, nor gave information about the weapon used in the attack.
As per state-backed China News Network, the incident unfolded around 7:40 AM local time on the 10th of July in Lianjiang city which is in Guangdong province.
As per BBC, Police informed that the attack was a case of stabbing. Around 8 AM local time, they arrested a 25-year-old man with the surname Wu. Further, Police have called this a case of “intentional assault”.
A local shopowner told BBC that the crime scene has been sealed for investigation. Beijing has prohibited its state media from publishing full details of this kindergarten stabbing as it fears a copycat attack can take place in that scenario.
As per a Reuters report, the kindergarten stabbing was the top-trending discussion on Weibo with 130 million views as of 12:20 pm (0420 GMT).
An unverified video was doing rounds on social media in which two of the victims were seen lying in a pool of blood outside the school. However, the great Chinese firewall has removed several videos from its video-sharing platform Douyin and its own Twitter-version Weibo. These removed videos were shot by passers-by and were claimed to be linked with the kindergarten stabbing.
Despite the fact that China strictly prohibits its citizens from owning firearms, there have been several cases of stabbings in recent years in China, especially in schools.
Past incidences
As per BBC, at least 17 knife attacks in schools, colleges, and universities have taken place in China since 2010. Out of them, ten cases occurred between 2018 and 2023.
In August 2022, three people were killed and six others were wounded in a knife attack at a kindergarten in China’s southeast province, Jiangxi.
Similarly, in April 2021, a knife-wielding man entered a kindergarten in southern China killing two children. Around 16 people were injured in this mass stabbing in Beiliu City, in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.
Earlier, in June 2020, 37 students and two adults were injured by a knife-wielding attacker at a primary school in southern China.
In 2020, a 40-year-old man was arrested in a “school-related criminal case” in the central Hubei province. The attacker killed eight schoolchildren and injured two others.
In April 2018, nine college students were killed and 12 people were injured outside their school in the northern province of Shaanxi. The attacker was claimed to be a 28-year-old man in that case. He later admitted that he acted out of revenge after being harassed by a student at the same school.
Apart from these knife attacks, in November 2019, one attacker climbed a kindergarten wall in southwest Yunnan province. Later, the man reportedly used a chemical spray to injure a classroom of 50 children.
Considering these fatal attacks targeting students, particularly after the April 2021 attack, the Chinese education ministry mandated emergency evacuation drills in schools.
