Home » Nation

8 pupils die, 5 in hospital after frenzied knife attack at school

IN a bloodbath that has rocked the nation, a man in southeast China yesterday killed eight primary school pupils after embarking on a manic stabbing and slashing attack with a knife.



Five other children from Nanping, in Fujian Province, are in hospital after the attack. One of them was in critical condition, doctors said.



Four of the dead children are confirmed to have been in their first year of school.



Police have arrested a man over the attack.



He is Zheng Minsheng, a former doctor in Nanping, according to Huang Zhongping, a spokesman for the city's public security bureau.



Zheng, born in April 1968, was a native of Nanping and worked at the Mazhan community clinic before he resigned in June 2009, Huang said.



Zheng is believed to have had have a long history of mental-health problems.



The attack happened at 7:20am at the entrance of Nanping Experimental Primary School, when crowds of students were arriving to start their day.



The school's janitor, Chen Shiyen, gave a graphic account of the tragic event.



"A student stabbed in the belly ran into the gate room saying 'help me, help me,' and I almost passed out when I saw the amount of blood," Chen told China News Service.



"I ran out of the room and asked people to call police ... that's when I saw a man slashing with a knife at the gates to the school."



Chen and others, including a shopkeeper, wrestled the man to the ground and disarmed him before police arrived.



The school was closed after the attack and all students were taken home by their families.



Liu Luyi, 12, was late last night still in the intensive care unit of Nanping People's Hospital, as his parents keep a tearful vigil.



Liu's mother, Lu Yanping, said: "My mind went blank when my son's teacher called me at 8am, saying that he had been stabbed.



"Doctors say my son is still in a critical condition ... I just hope he recovers soon."



City officials would send condolences to every affected family and step up security around schools, said Yang Xinqiang, deputy secretary-general of Nanping's municipal government.



Police were investigating and would release details as soon as they could, Yang said.



The school, with more than 2,000 students, has a respected reputation in Nanping, a city with a population of about 3 million.



Liao Hanren, deputy head of the municipal education bureau, said classes would resume this morning at the school and psychological counseling would be provided for students.



The bureau has sent about 20 psychological therapists to the school to deal with possible post-traumatic stress.



Wei Honghua, a psychologist, said counseling was already offered yesterday for some teachers and students at the school.





