Four killed in fresh school attack in China

Kindergarten scare returned to haunt China on Wednesday as a man wielding a huge knife went on a killing spree in a school in the country`s east, leaving three children and a teacher dead.

Beijing: Kindergarten scare returned to
haunt China on Wednesday as a man wielding a huge knife went on a
killing spree in a school in the country`s east, leaving three
children and a teacher dead.

In the latest incident in a wave of deadly school
attacks, 26-year-old Fang Jiantang, a self-employed man, was
detained within hours after he attacked the children in a
school in Zibo City of Shandong Province.

Three children died on the spot, while three others
and four teachers received grievous wounds, state run Xinhua
news agency reported quoting an official statement.
One of the teachers died in hospital while the
condition of three other children and another teacher was
reported to be serious.

Police recovered a 60 centimetre long knife at the
instance of Fang, who confessed to the killings, Xinhua said.
The motive for the crime was not immediately known and
authorities were investigating.

Police cars and ambulances rushed to the school after
nearby residents had called the authorities.

Like a dozen other attacks earlier, the unidentified
assailant, believed to be a disgruntled individual entered the
school as parents were picking up their children in the
evening. He apparently entered the school posing himself as a
parent.

Reports in some of the local websites said parents
were seen screaming outside the school looking at the
extensive injuries caused to the children. The faces of some
of the children so badly damaged that they could not be
recognised.

After the macabre killings, authorities shut down all
primary schools in the city for a month.

The killings are the latest in string of assaults on
schools which have sent shockwaves across the world`s most
populous nation.

Five major attacks on primary schools have already
taken place between March to May this year in which 22 people,
including 15 school children, were killed and more than 100
injured.

The school killings came just a day after a drunken
man driving a heavy duty shovel killed 11 people and injuring
30 others in northern Hebei province.
Two people have already been executed after being
found guilty of such heinous killings by Chinese courts as
authorities have stepped up police patrolling around all
schools in the country.

Schools have also been told to hire more guards and
school buses are running with armed guards.

Some of the attackers were found to have been
suffering from mental disorders and increasing stress in
everyday life is being blamed for such maladies.

During trial, one of the school killers, Xu Yuyuan who
was executed had said that he had gone on a killing spree to
vent his rage against society after he lost money in gambling.

Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has said the government is
initiating measures to address the growing social and economic
disparities. The official media has also progressively cut
down the coverage of the attacks following observations that
these are copy cat attacks which were getting fuelled by
publicity.

PTI

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