Knife-wielding man stabs and kills 6 students at a school in eastern China; 7 others wounded

Man stabs and kills 6 students in eastern China

BEIJING — A knife-wielding man stabbed and killed six children and injured seven others Tuesday at an elementary school in eastern China, a state news agency reported.

The assailant was arrested after the 7:20 a.m. attack, Xinhua News Agency said. He was described as a middle-aged, former community clinic doctor who is thought to have mental illness.

The wounded students from Nanping City Experimental Elementary School were in stable condition at a hospital, Xinhua said, citing a statement from the city’s Communist Party office.

A man surnamed Wu in the city government office confirmed six children were killed and seven injured.

The school, located in Fujian province, was closed and students were sent home.

China has witnessed a series of school attacks over the past several years, which are often blamed on personal grudges or people with psychiatric problems, leading to calls for improved security.