- The attack took place at Wufang Mingde Elementary School in Guixi city
- It is yet to be confirmed whether children are among the casualties
Two people have been killed and ten others injured after a woman armed with a fruit knife launched a brutal knife attack at a Chinese primary school.
The deadly attack took place at around midday at the Wufang Mingde Elementary School in Guixi city, in China‘s southern Jiangxi province.
Police have stated it was carried out by a 45-year-old woman, surnamed Pan, who had used a fruit knife during her vicious stabbing rampage. It is yet to be confirmed whether children are among the casualties.
The female culprit has since been apprehended, police added in a statement posted on social media.
Two people died after rescue efforts failed. Four more suffered non-life-threatening injuries, and another six received ‘minor scratches’, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
A violent stabbing attack took place at the Wufang Mingde Elementary School in Guixi city, China
Two people have reportedly died while 10 others were left injured following the knife attack
It is currently unclear why the primary school – which in China teach children aged six to 12 – was targeted.
Pan is currently being held by police and the case is under investigation, the broadcaster added.
Parents at the school revealed their shock and fears after hearing the news that the school had come under attack.
Speaking to the BBC, one father said: ‘Of course, we are scared. It’s not just the children; even we adults are very frightened’.
He also added that the teachers handled the tragic incident well as they immediately posted photos of the children in the parent group, stating they were safe and reassured them the doors had been locked.
Another parent, who chose to stay anonymous, said: ‘I received the news at noon, and I was very shocked.
‘My child is in the fifth grade and very young and has safely arrived home, but the school has not informed us of anything and has kept everything hidden.
‘I am going back to comfort my child and to find out what exactly happened’.
The incident fits a disturbing pattern that has been seen cropping up around China in recent months, with a spate of knife attacks killing and wounding multiple civillians, including one attack that broke out at a hospital.
Last May, a man stabbed two people to death and injured a further 21 at the hospital in the southern province of Yunnan.
In August last year, a man with a history of mental illness killed two people and wounded seven others after unleashing a knife attack in a residential district, also in Yunnan.
In July of the same year, six people, including three children, were murdered in a sickening kindergarten stabbing in the south-eastern province of Guangdong.
The mass killing saw a 25-year-old man with the surname Wu in Lianjiang arrested by police.
Firearms are banned in China but the country has seen at least 17 knife attacks in schools, colleges and universities since 2010, ten of which have happened in more recent years, between 2018 and 2023.
The majority of these cases have found perpetrators to be men that have expressed a grudge against society, although experts have said there may additional factors for what appears to be an increase in mass stabbings in China.
This is a breaking news story. More to follow.