Deutsche Tageszeitung - China hospital attack leaves two dead, 21 wounded

China hospital attack leaves two dead, 21 wounded


China hospital attack leaves two dead, 21 wounded
China hospital attack leaves two dead, 21 wounded / Photo: © AFP

Two people were dead and 21 wounded after a man went on a stabbing spree at a hospital in southwest China on Tuesday, local officials said.

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"A knife attack occurred at the Chengnan Hospital in Zhenxiong County, which resulted in two deaths and 21 injuries," a statement on the county's official WeChat account said.

The suspect -- a man from a nearby village -- is under investigation, authorities said.

The wounded were being treated in hospital, they added.

Images published by the state-run news site The Paper appeared to show a man pointing a knife at another man wielding a stick in a hospital lobby, as well as police officers arriving at the scene.

Mass violent crime is rare in China, which strictly prohibits citizens from owning firearms, but there has been a spate of stabbings in recent years.

Last August in Yunnan, two people died and seven others were wounded after a man with a history of mental illness attacked people with a knife.

The month before, six people were killed and one wounded in a kindergarten stabbing in southern China's Guangdong province.

And in August 2022, three people were killed and six wounded in a knife attack at a kindergarten in southeast China's Jiangxi province.

(N.Loginovsky--DTZ)