A man forced his way into a north-east China primary school on Friday and slashed 12 young children before cutting his own throat, officials and state media said. The man, whose identity is unknown, stormed into the Central Primary School in Mingcheng township in Jilin province at 9:20 am and targeted a class of grade one pupils, mostly aged about six or seven.
Of the injured, five were boys and seven girls. They were rushed to hospital where four were reported to be seriously hurt with head, ear and back injuries.
"It happened around 9:20 this morning. A man aged about 30 entered the school but not through the front gate," an official surnamed Fu at the Panshi city education committee told AFP.
"He rushed into a classroom and used a kitchen knife and injured 12 students. He was caught by the teachers and then the police arrived," Fu said, adding that 30 students were in the class at the time.
The state Xinhua news agency said the man, a resident of Mingcheng township, cut his own throat after attacking the children and was rushed to hospital. His condition was not immediately known.