A terrible tragedy struck southern China on Monday, July 10. An attack on a kindergarten in Lianjiang left six dead and one injured, including several children, a municipal spokeswoman said. The shooting took place around 7:40 a.m. local time (2340 GMT Sunday) in Lianjiang city, Guangdong province, according to state-backed media China News Network.
In total, seven victims are to be deplored, including “a teacher, two parents and three students”, indicated the spokesperson, while specifying that a “suspect was arrested”, without being able to immediately give details. on the age or identity of the victims, or the type of weapon used. The arrested suspect is 25 years old, local police said in a statement, identifying him as Mr. Wu. police, who are now trying to verify the identity of the victims.
The attack took place around 7:40 a.m. local time in the city of Lianjiang, located in Guangdong province, according to state-backed media China News Network. In a video published by the government daily of the neighboring province of Hunan, Sanxiang Metropolis Daily, a tall and thin man, his hands clasped behind his back, is seen being pushed by officers into a police car. Other videos shot by passers-by claiming to show the scene of the crime were quickly removed from Chinese social networks Douyin (local name of TikTok) and Weibo (similar to Twitter).
China prohibits its citizens from owning firearms. But stabbing attacks have increased in recent years in the country. Generally speaking, violence is on the rise in the world’s second-largest economy, where the gap between poor and rich has widened rapidly in recent years.
Deadly attacks specifically targeting schools have taken place across the country, prompting authorities to step up security around schools. In August 2022, a stabbing attack at a kindergarten in southwestern Jiangxi province left three people dead and six injured. An individual armed with a knife attacked a kindergarten in Beiliu, in the south of the country, in April 2021, killing 2 children and injuring 16 people.