- By Kelly Ng and Rupert Wingfield-Hayes
- in Singapore and Bangkok
Jul 10, 2023 at 5:05 am BST
Updated 29 minutes ago
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China was rocked by another knife attack
Six people, including three children, were killed in a knife attack on a kindergarten in China’s southeastern Guangdong province.
Police said they arrested a 25-year-old man surnamed Wu in Lianjiang City.
The other victims are a teacher and two parents, AFP reported, citing a local official. One person is also injured.
The police spoke of “intentional bodily harm”, but did not name a possible motive.
The attack happened at 07:40 local time on Monday (23:40 GMT on Sunday), just as parents were taking their children to summer classes. The man was arrested at 08:00.
A shopkeeper who works near the nursery told the BBC the area has been locked down.
As videos of the attack circulated on Chinese social media, they sparked outrage and shock.
The stabbings, too, fit into a disturbingly familiar pattern. Firearms are banned in China, but the country has seen a spate of knife attacks in recent years, although there was also an incident in which the attacker used a chemical spray to injure a classroom of 50 children.
The BBC has counted at least 17 knife attacks in schools, colleges and universities since 2010. Ten of these occurred between 2018 and 2023.
In August last year, an assailant armed with a knife stormed a kindergarten in the southeastern province of Jiangxi, killing three people and injuring six others.
In most of these cases, the perpetrators are male and have expressed resentment against society. Similar patterns have been observed in mass killings in other countries, from the US to Japan. But experts assume that there could be other reasons for the apparent increase in mass killings in China.
They believe the Covid-19 pandemic has forced Chinese cities to endure some of the longest and harshest lockdowns in the world. The aftermath hasn’t been fully explored, but could include feelings of anger and resentment, as well as the loss of jobs, investments, and relationships.
The high level of stress and the high expectations placed on young men in Chinese society are mentioned as other possible factors. These are exacerbated by high youth unemployment and the widening gap between rich and poor. One expert told the BBC that a strong sense of “social deprivation” can lead some people to use violence to vent their frustration with society.
Since 2010, Chinese authorities have tightened security around schools. Earlier this year, the Ministry of Public Security had urged local authorities to “take firm action against criminal activity” to ensure the safety of teachers and students.
The Ministry of Education also ordered emergency evacuation drills in schools after the April 2021 attack.
Also, fearing copycat attacks, Beijing does not allow state media to release full details of Monday’s kindergarten incident.
Additional coverage by BBC Chinese