EIGHT primary school children have been hacked to death on the first day of the new school year by a machete-wielding attacker in Hubei Province.
A 40-year-old man was arrested after the children were attacked at a primary school in Hubei, central China. The attack took place at Chaotangpo Primary School in the town of Baiyangping – on the very first day of the new academic year. The horror unfolded at around 8am local time, as pupils arrived at the school for classes.
A further two children are being treated for injuries following the horrifying attack.
The suspect, who police said was a local man, was found by officers at the scene.
The man is currently being held in custody.
A spokeswoman for Enshi Central Hospital said wounded pupils were undergoing treatment.
The local government said it was offering counselling to children who witnessed the attacks.
No further details on the students’ injuries or their individual ages have been released.
A statement from the Enshi city government read: “The local party committee and government is all out organising rescue and remedial work.”
Another statement by the Enshi City police department was posted on Chinese social media site Weibo.
But the post was later removed without explanation.
According to the Mirror, local resident told the state-approved Passion News: “The culprit was released from prison after serving his term not long ago.
“[He] wanted to take revenge on society so he took a cleaver and went to the Chaoyangpo Primary School in Baiyangping Town.”
In China, primary school children range from 6 to 13-years-old.
Sadly, knife attacks on schoolchildren are a regular occurrence in mainland China.
Perpetrators often claim they are motivated by a desire to take revenge on society.
Earlier this year, two pupils were killed in an attack at a school in Baijiaping in Hunan province.
In January a maintenance man in Beijing was detained over a hammer attack in which 20 pupils were wounded.
In April 2018, nine children were killed and more than a dozen wounded outside a middle school in northwestern Shaanxi province by an attacker.
The man was allegedly a former pupil at the school, who was seeking revenge for having been bullied.
And in October of last year, at least 14 children at a kindergarten in Chongqing were slashed by a woman with a kitchen knife.
Recently, Beijing recently ordered the execution of a disgruntled farmer who slashed a dozen children.
He committed the atrocity because he was “not happy with his life”.
Qin Pengan, 43, used a vegetable knife to stab the youngsters at a kindergarten in January 2017.
But a brave teacher fought the crazed attacker off and called for help.
