A man has been arrested after stabbing 20 children at a primary school in Beijing, in a rare act of violence against children in the Chinese capital.
The Xicheng district government said in a post on its Weibo account that three of the children suffered heavy injuries and were in a stable condition. There were no reports of any deaths.
Local police also said on Weibo the attack took place at Xuanwu Normal Experimental Affiliated Number One Primary School just after 11:15am (local time).
The government did not give other details of the attack, but posts on social media said the children suffered knife wounds to the head.
About six police cars were parked outside a hospital near the school, according to a Reuters witness.
Police declined to comment by telephone when asked about the attack.
But according to the South China Morning Post, the stabbing was carried out by a former temporary janitor who was angry at not having passed his probation.
Violent crime is rare in China but there has been a series of knife and axe attacks in recent years, many targeting children.
In January 2017, a man in southern China stabbed 12 children with a vegetable knife to extract revenge for his life not going as he wanted and a dispute with a neighbour.
The man was executed this month.
Source: ABC
-Agencies
