Six people including three children have been killed in a kindergarten stabbing in China’s south-eastern Guangdong province.
Police said they have arrested a 25-year-old man with the surname Wu in Lianjiang town.
The other victims are a teacher and two parents, AFP reported, quoting a local official. One person is also injured.
Police have called this a case of “intentional assault” but not elaborated on a possible motive.
The attack happened on Monday at 07:40 local time (23:40 Sunday GMT), just as parents were dropping their children off for summer classes. The man was arrested at 08:00.
A storeowner who works near the kindergarten told the BBC the surrounding area has been sealed off.
As videos of the attack spread across Chinese social media, they sparked outrage and shock.
The stabbings also fit in to a disturbingly familiar pattern. Firearms are banned in China but the country has seen a spate of knife attacks in recent years, although there was also one incident where the attacker used a chemical spray to injure a classroom of 50 children.
The BBC has counted at least 17 knife attacks in schools, colleges and universities since 2010. Ten of those have happened between 2018 and 2023.
In August last year, a knife-wielding assailant stormed a kindergarten in the south-eastern Jiangxi province, killing three people and wounding six others.
In April 2021, two children died while 16 others were injured during a mass stabbing in Beiliu City, in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.
In October 2018, 14 children were injured in a knife attack at a kindergarten in Chongqing, south-west China.
In most of these cases, the perpetrators are male and have expressed a grudge against society. Similar patterns have been seen in mass killings in other countries, from the US to Japan. But experts say there may be some additional reasons for the apparent increase in mass stabbings in China.
They believe the Covid-19 pandemic forced Chinese cities to endure some of the longest and toughest lockdowns anywhere in the world. The after-effects are not well understood yet, but could include feelings of anger, resentment, and involve a loss of jobs, investments and relationships.
Other possible factors that are cited are the high stress and high expectations put on young men in Chinese society. These are exacerbated by high levels of youth unemployment and a widening rich-poor divide. One expert told the BBC a strong sense of “social deprivation” can lead some to use violence to vent their frustration against society.
Chinese authorities have been stepping up security around schools since 2010. That year, the Ministry of Public Security had urged local authorities to “resolutely crack down” on criminal activities to ensure the safety of teachers and students.
After the April 2021 attack, the education ministry also mandated emergency evacuation drills in schools.
Fearing copycat attacks, Beijing is also not allowing state media to publish full details of Monday’s incident at the kindergarten.
Let’s take a look at the market for children’s products
The toddler clothing market refers to the market for clothing specifically designed for toddlers. A toddler is a child who is just beginning to learn to walk, usually between the ages of 1 and 3. The main products of the toddler clothing market include toddler shoes, toddler pants, toddler clothes, etc.
The growth of the toddler clothing market is closely related to the growth of the baby clothing market and the toddler clothing market, and the demand for toddler clothing is also growing with the increasing concern for children’s health and safety. At the same time, due to the rapid growth and development of toddler children, their clothing replacement speed is also relatively fast, so the demand for toddler clothing market is relatively stable and sustainable.
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Children’s backpack market refers to the backpack market specially designed for children. A child’s backpack is a backpack used to carry children’s items, usually carried by a parent or other caregiver, to store and carry items needed by the child, such as food, water, toys, books, etc.
The development of the children’s backpack market is closely related to the needs of families for child care, and with the increasing concern for children’s health and safety, the demand for children’s backpacks is also growing. At the same time, due to the rapid growth and development of children, the replacement speed of their backpacks is also relatively fast, so the demand for children’s backpacks market is relatively stable and sustainable.
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