HONG KONG — A man attacked an elementary school in central China on Monday, killing at least eight students and wounding two others, the police said.

The attack occurred around 8 a.m. on the first day of the semester at the school in Chaoyangpo village of Enshi city in Hubei Province, the local police said.

But in a sign of the sensitivity of the situation, the Enshi police removed a public statement they had posted online early Monday outlining basic details of the attack. The only official statement remaining is one posted on Monday by the Enshi government, which said that 10 students had been wounded and did not mention the deaths.

The police said they had arrested a suspect, whom they identified only as a 40-year-old man surnamed Yu. The government statement did not mention the method of attack or a possible motive.