A man has killed at least seven children and injured at least 12 others at a middle school in northern China, according to local officials.

The deadly rampage is the latest in a string of knife attacks against school children to happen in the country in recent years.

Read more: Man targets children in China stabbing rampage

What we know so far:

Authorities in Mizhi County in Shaanxi province wrote on their official social media account:

The attack took place around 6:10 p.m. local time (1010 UTC) as school children were on their way home.

Five girls and two boys were killed; nine girls and three boys were wounded. The injured children are in hospital receiving treatment.

Police have detained a 28-year-old suspect, who confessed to police that he had been "bullied" at the same school as a child and "hated" classmates.

Previous knife attacks: A man stabbed and wounded 11 children with a kitchen knife at a kindergarten in China's southern Guangxi Zhuang region in January 2017. In February 2016, another man wounded 10 children with a knife on the southern island province of Hainan before he committed suicide.

Read more: China school knife attack leaves at least three dead

amp/rt (AFP, dpa)