China: 20 Injured As ‘Staff Member’ Attacks Children at Primary School

Local Editor

A man attacked pupils at a primary school in Beijing, injuring 20 and leaving at least three children in a serious condition. The suspect was detained.

The incident happened at around 11:15am local in the city’s Xicheng district, police said. The details of the attack are unclear but initial unconfirmed reports suggested that the suspect was wielding a knife.

All of the victims were hospitalized. Three of the children sustained serious but not life-threatening injuries and remain in a stable condition.

According to local news outlets, a video circulating on Chinese social media shows a head teacher saying that the attacker worked at the same school.

“A worker at our school attacked 20 students in a first-floor stairwell,” the teacher said, as quoted by the South China Morning Post.

Other reports suggested that the attacker may have worked as a janitor at the school in the past.

Stabbing attacks on primary schools and children’s daycare centers have become more common in China in recent years. In 2017, a man in his 40s injured 12 children with a vegetable knife during a rampage in the southern city of Pingxiang. He was executed last week.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team