XINHUA (China), AL JAZEERA (Qatar)
CHENGPING – Twenty-two school children and a villager were injured in a knife attack at the outside a primary school in central China’s Henan Province Friday morning, reports Xinhua.
A police officer said the attack occured in the village of Chengping in the province of Henan, shortly before 8 A.M. on Friday, as students were arriving for classes, reports Al Jazeera.
The attacker, believed to be 36-year-old villager Min Yingjun, is in police custody, said officials.
The wounded villager is an elderly woman, according to a local hospital administrator. Two students have been transferred to “better-equipped” hospitals outside the county.
Over the past few years, China has seen a worrying spate of school stabbings, leading to increased security at schools across the country and legislation requiring people to register when buying large knives.
In March 2010, eight children were stabbed to death in the south China city of Nanping.
The 41 year-old murderer was executed a month later, hours before another attacker injured 16 students and a teacher at Hongfu Primary School in Leizhou, Guangdong, reports Al Jazeera.
In April 29 2010, 28 school children – mostly four-year-olds – were stabbed alongside two teachers and a security guard in Taixing near Shanghai.
On April 30, a forty-five year old man committed suicide after using a hammer to attack preschool children in rural Shandong.
