51 children injured in chemical attack at Chinese kindergarten after man sprays caustic soda

Ryan W. Miller | USA TODAY

More than 50 children in southwest China were injured in a chemical attack at a kindergarten, state media reported Tuesday.

Fifty-one children and three teachers were hurt in the attack in Kaiyuan in Yunnan Province, Xinhua News Agency reported.

According to CNA, the suspect climbed a wall to enter the kindergarten and sprayed caustic soda.

A 23-year-old man was arrested an hour later, and police said he wanted "revenge on society," Xinhua reported.

The Washington Post reported Kaiyuan police found the man behind the school and cited his "troubled family background."

Sodium hydroxide, also known as caustic soda or lye, is corrosive to metals and tissue and can irritate skin, eyes and mucous membranes, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Similar attacks on schoolchildren have been carried out in recent years in China. Eight children were killed on the first day of school in in Hubei province in September, the South China Morning Post reported.

In January, a man with a hammer injured 20 children at a school in Beijing. In October 2018, 14 children at a kindergarten in Chongqing were injured in a knife attack. A knife attack in Mizhi County left multiple children dead at a middle school in April 2018.

Contributing: The Associated Press. Follow USA TODAY's Ryan Miller on Twitter @RyanW_Miller