Two dead in stabbing at central Chinese elementary school

NEW DELHI: Two people were killed and four injured when a woman armed with a fruit knife attacked a primary school in the eastern Chinese city of Guixi.

Despite rescue efforts, two victims succumbed to their injuries. Four others suffered non-life-threatening injuries and another six suffered “minor scratches,” AP reported.

The suspect, identified as a 45-year-old woman surnamed Pan, was arrested by law enforcement. The case is currently under investigation as police work to establish the circumstances of the incident and the motivation behind the attack.

This is the second such incident in the country this month. State news agency Xinhua, citing the provincial public security agency, said the injured had been hospitalized and were receiving medical treatment.

Knife attacks have become common in China, and this is the second one this month. The authorities attribute these attacks to dissatisfied or mentally unstable people. On May 7, a mass stabbing at a hospital in Yunnan province left two dead and 21 injured.

Due to China’s ban on private gun ownership for most civilians, the country has seen a number of mass knife attacks in public spaces in recent years. In August last year, a man with a history of mental illness attacked people with a knife in a residential area in Yunnan, leaving two people dead and seven injured. Likewise, in July of the same year, six people, including three children, died in a knife attack at a kindergarten in southeastern Guangdong Province.

(With contributions from agencies)