Woman Held After Kindergarten Knife Attack in China's Chongqing

Authorities in the southwestern Chinese megacity of Chongqing are holding a woman after a bloody knife attack on a kindergarten left 14 children injured.

The attack at the New Century Kindergarten in Chongqing’s Banan district took place at 9:30 a.m. as the children were arriving for class, the Chongqing police department said in a statement on the social media platform Sina Weibo.

Video footage after the attack posted to social media showed injured children walking to ambulances from the school gate, with some being put onto gurneys.

A 39-year-old woman surnamed Liu is in police custody after carrying out the attack with a chopper blade. She was restrained and detained at the scene by teachers and security guards, it said.

Investigations continue into the incident at the kindergarten, which has 175 pupils and 19 staff members.

The attack came when teachers took the children to do morning exercises outside the front gate of the building, which has no private playground, reports said.

A member of the Chongqing legal community surnamed Lei said people are increasingly worried at an apparent increase in public violence, and rumors are circulating around the community about the motive behind the attack.

“Some people are saying she is mentally ill, and others are saying it’s about a private vendetta,” he said. “I don’t know what the problem is. It seems anyone can be in danger at any time … public safety is a real issue.”

Full story: rfa.org

Reported by Wong Siu-san and Wen Yuqing for RFA’s Cantonese Service, and by the Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.