China: 12 preschool children stabbed at school

A 41-year-old man climbed over a wall into a kindergarten in Pingxiang town (Guangxi province, China), using a knife to stab and injure 12 children.

The suspect has been arrested but the motive for the incident is not yet known, according to Xinhua. None of the children are in life-threatening condition. The incident occurred on January 4.

School knife attacks have occurred several times in China in recent years, CNN reported. Just in 2016, a man stabbed 10 children in Hainan province before killing himself. And in 2014, another man killed three students before jumping off a building.

Chinese police visit schools to equip teachers with skills to deal with knife attacks. Photo: AFP

But perhaps the most shocking and disturbing incident occurred in 2010, when a series of knife stabbings occurred in schools over three consecutive days. The Chinese Ministry of Education at that time had to order schools to increase security, ban strangers from entering the school, and even equip teachers with self-defense and fighting skills.

Police have visited schools to teach teachers and staff how to deal with knife attacks.

China has also begun a program requiring buyers of large knives to register with the government.

According to TNO