- A 25-year-old suspect with the surname Y was arrested.
- Media reports have confirmed that children were among the victims.
- Social media users are demanding death penalty for the person who stabbed.
At least six people have been killed and one injured in a knife attack at a kindergarten in the Chinese province of Guangdong, authorities said on Monday, sparking fears about the safety of children attending school.
The 25-year-old suspect, with the surname Y, was arrested and authorities have launched an investigation into the stabbing.
According to media reports, the incident in Lianjiang County in the southern province was a stabbing, with some reports that children were among the victims.
Although violent crimes are rare in China due to strict gun laws and tight security, stabbings at pre-schools in the past few years have raised concerns about school safety.
The latest stabbing incident in China has sparked an emotional debate on the Weibo social media platform. It was the top-trending discussion with 290 million views as of 1:50 pm (0550 GMT).
Some social media users demanded the death penalty for the suspect.
One Weibo user said, “It is outrageous to do this to children who have no power at all. How many families this will destroy… I support the death penalty.”
Another user questioned the security at the schools, especially after similar previous attacks.
“Why do such cases keep coming up even now?”
In August last year, at least three people died and six were injured in a knife attack at a kindergarten in the southern province of Jiangxi.
In 2021, a man killed two children and injured 16 at a kindergarten in the southwestern region of Guangxi.
The attacks on children have also shed light on mental health, which is often out of the spotlight because of the cultural stigma attached to mental illnesses.
In 2017, a 22-year-old man set off an explosive device outside a kindergarten in Jiangsu province, killing himself and some others while injuring dozens.
According to state media, the man was suffering from a neurological disorder and had written the words for death on the walls of his house.
Last month, a series of violent attacks in Hong Kong also raised the issue of mental health.
Mental health experts point to the COVID-19 pandemic as a major factor behind the rise in mental health problems.
