Three children and three adults were reportedly killed in a stabbing that took place at a kindergarten in China’s Guangdong province.
The authorities arrested a 25-year-old man with the surname Wu in Lianjiang. The victims include three children, one teacher, and two parents, per BBC. The attack reportedly took place at 7:40 am local time, when parents were dropping their children off for summer school.
The report noted that the stabbing represents a “disturbingly familiar pattern,” as stabbing incidents have occurred several times in recent years. There have apparently been 17 knife attacks in schools, including colleges and universities, since 2010.
In August 2022, someone stormed a kindergarten with a knife and killed three people in the process. The assailant was initially referred to as a 48-year-old “gangster.”
In April 2021, two children and 16 others were injured during a stabbing incident in Beiliu City, in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. A suspect was arrested right away following the incident.
And then in October 2018, there was a stabbing that took place at a kindergarten in Chongqing, where 14 children were injured in the process.
The BBC speculated on why this phenomenon is happening, citing that the male perpetrators have expressed discontent with society in general. Similar attacks have happened in other countries around the world, including the US and Japan.
There has also been speculation that the fallout of Covid-19 lockdowns in China could have something to do with the recent violence, though no data has been published to support this claim. It has also been suggested that young men in the country have high stress due to high expectations, with the youth unemployment and rich-poor divide steadily increasing.
While initial reports of the stabbing incident have been published around the world, Beijing is not allowing state media to publish details about the stabbing incident, fearing copycat attacks.
Lianjiang has a population of about 1.87 million people.
