Three children were killed and more than a dozen injured in an axe attack at a day-care centre in southern China on Friday, state media said. A man attacked a group of primary school aged children gathered in an afternoon care centre, killing three and injuring 13, state-run news agency Xinhua said. Authorities arrested the man, surnamed Wu, after the attack in Pingnan county in Guangxi autonomous region, the report said, adding that he was mentally ill.
China has seen several violent attacks against children over the past two years, including a spate of five incidents in 2010 which killed 15 children and two adults and wounded more than 80. The attacks have forced authorities to increase security around schools and led to calls for more research into the root causes of such acts.