25 children slashed in Chinese grade school

[TB4000]

Man Slashes 25 Children at Chinese School

Mon Sep 20,12:05 PM ET


By JOE McDONALD, Associated Press Writer

BEIJING - A man slashed 25 children with a kitchen knife Monday at a grade school in eastern China and held a 9-year-old girl hostage for an hour before police captured him, the government said.



It was the third time in six weeks that a knife attack has been reported at a Chinese school or day care center. The earlier attacks left one child dead, injured a total of 42 people and caused widespread concern about school safety.
It isn't clear whether such violence is increasing or whether communist leaders are letting the state-controlled media report more assaults in schools.

In the latest incident, in Ying County in Shandong province, the attacker was identified as the father of a girl at the school who had a quarrel with another resident, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Jia Qingyou, 37, went looking for the other resident at the school when he dropped off his own daughter; when he couldn't find the person, he began attacking students, the report said.
Xinhua didn't give any details of the quarrel or say how badly injured the students were. It also didn't say whether Jia's daughter or classmates were among the injured.

Jia took a girl hostage, but "after an hour of effort by police, she was successfully rescued," Xinhua said without elaborating.
China has suffered rising crime and violence as the government has loosened social controls over the past two decades. Many towns seethe with personal grudges and business disputes, aggravated by wrenching economic and social changes, that can erupt into bombings, poisonings and other violence.

Most gun ownership in China is illegal but explosives, knives and other weapons are readily available.

In the worst recent school violence, an employee with a history of schizophrenia killed one student and slashed 14 others and three teachers on Aug. 4 at a Beijing kindergarten.

The school is located within a half-mile of the compound where President Hu Jintao and other leaders live, but it wasn't clear whether any children of senior officials were involved.

China's leadership takes pains to portray the country and its capital as a safe place where an increasingly well-off population benefits from economic reforms.
But serial murders, gangland bombings and mass poisonings in recent years threaten to undermine that image.
In another recent attack, a 41-year-old man slashed 28 children at a day care center in the eastern city of Suzhou. Police said he was captured as he was preparing to ignite gasoline and homemade explosives.

None of the children was seriously injured.

Police said there was no indication why the man attacked the day care center, which mostly served children of migrant workers.

[applehead]

that's awful. attacking children.
digusting.

[truMp]

It is very sad to know, but this happens everywhere all the time.

can i get a link to the article? thanks.