China: At least two killed, seven injured in knife attack

At least two people were killed and seven others wounded and hospitalised after a knife attack on Tuesday (August 8) in China’s southwestern Yunnan province, said the local authorities. This comes a month after six people, including three children, were killed in a kindergarten stabbing incident in the country’s southeastern Guangdong province.

What do we know about the recent incident?

According to the local officials, the incident took place around 8:00 am (local time). The alleged perpetrator was identified as a 20-year-old man with a history of mental illness, said the police.

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In a statement released Tuesday evening, Luoping County police said that the suspect, surnamed Chen, had “stabbed his mother with a knife at home then fled, stabbing eight (more) people successively,” as quoted by AFP.

It added, “Among them, two people were unable to be saved and died.”

Chen has since been arrested. According to the police, those injured are being treated in hospital for their wounds. However, the condition of those wounded was not immediately known.

The attack took place in the county’s Lashan urban residential district, said the officials, adding that they have since begun an investigation into the case and are “dealing with its aftermath” in an “orderly and lawful manner.”

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Recent rise of mass stabbings in China

While guns are strictly controlled in China, there has been a spate of mass stabbings in recent years. In July, at least six people including three children, a teacher and two parents, were killed after a kindergarten stabbing in China’s Guangdong province.

The alleged assailant was identified as a 25-year-old man with the surname Wu, who was reportedly arrested nearly 20 minutes after the attack which occurred early in the morning when the parents were dropping their children off for summer classes.

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According to a report by the BBC, there have been at least 17 knife attacks in Chinese schools, colleges and universities since 2010. Out of which ten have happened between 2018 and 2023, the report added.

(With inputs from agencies)

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