Children among six dead in China kindergarten stabbing

In China’s southern Guangdong province, a kindergarten stabbing has claimed the lives of six individuals, three of whom were children.

A 25-year-old male with the last name Wu was reportedly detained by police in Lianjiang town.

AFP quoted a local official, two parents, and a teacher to make up the remaining victims. Additionally, one person gets hurt.

Police have described this as an “intentional assault” but have not provided any other information regarding a potential motive.

The attack occurred on Monday at 7:40 local time (23:40 Sunday GMT) as parents dropped off their kids at summer camp. A man was taken into custody at about 8:00.

The area around the kindergarten has been cordoned off, a store owner who works nearby informed the BBC. In China’s southern Guangdong province, a kindergarten stabbing has claimed the lives of six individuals, three of whom were children.

The incident footage triggered outrage and astonishment as it increased on Chinese social media.

The stabbings also followed an unsettlingly predictable pattern. Although China forbids firearms, there have been several knife assaults recently. On one occasion, the assailant also injured 50 children with chemical spray.

Since 2010, the BBC has recorded at least 17 knife incidents in educational institutions such as colleges and universities. There have been ten of those between 2018 and 2023.

Three people were killed, and six others were injured when a knife-wielding attacker invaded a kindergarten in the southern Jiangxi province in August of last year.

Two children died, and 16 others were hurt in a mass stabbing in Beiliu City, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, in April 2021.

In a knife attack at a kindergarten in Chongqing, southwest China, in October 2018, 14 kids were hurt.

The culprits in most of these incidents are male and have shown animosity toward society. Similar trends have been observed in mass murders in other nations, including the US and Japan. However, analysts speculate that some other factors may be at play in China’s apparent rise in mass stabbings.

According to them, the Covid-19 pandemic made it necessary for Chinese towns to go through perhaps the strictest and longest lockdowns ever. Although the consequences are not fully known, they may include sentiments of rage and hatred and the termination of relationships, investments, and jobs.

The high levels of stress and expectations placed on young males in Chinese society are mentioned as additional potential contributing factors. High rates of youth unemployment and a growing rich-poor split are worsening these issues. According to an expert, some people with a strong feeling of “social deprivation” may resort to violence to express their displeasure with society.

Since 2010, Chinese authorities have increased security in and around schools. To safeguard the safety of instructors and pupils, the Ministry of Public Security had asked local authorities to “resolutely crack down” on criminal activity that year.

The education ministry also required emergency evacuation drills in schools following the attack in April 2021.

Beijing is also withholding specific facts about Monday’s incident at the kindergarten due to concerns about copycat strikes.

Source: BBC