BEIJING: Six people were killed and one wounded in an attack at a kindergarten in southern China’s Guangdong province on Monday, a spokeswoman for the city government said.

“The victims include one teacher, two parents and three students,” she said.

She did not offer details about the identities or ages of the victims, nor the weapon used in the attack, which took place in the city of Lianjiang.

“One suspect has been arrested,” she said, adding that a police investigation was underway. The suspect was a 25-year-old male surnamed Wu, local police said in a statement. The incident took place around 7:40am, the state-backed China News Network reported.

Videos shot by passers by claiming to show the crime scene were removed from video-sharing platform Douyin and Twitter-like Weibo.

While guns are strictly controlled, China has been struggling with a spate of mass stabbings.

Violent crime has been on the rise as the economy has grown in recent decades and the gap between rich and poor has widened rapidly.

Fatal attacks targeting students and schools have occurred nationwide in recent years.

The attacks have forced authorities to step up security and prompted calls for more research into the root causes of such violent acts.

Last August, three people were killed and six others wounded in a knife attack at a kindergarten in southeast China’s Jiangxi province. In April 2021, two children were killed and 16 others wounded when a knife-wielding man entered a kindergarten in southern China.

In June of the previous year, 37 students and two adults were wounded by a knife-wielding attacker at a primary school in southern China.

Published in Dawn, July 11th, 2023