Another 7 pupils die in attack by madman
By Christopher Bodeen |
May 13, 2010, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
AN attacker with a meat cleaver hacked to death seven children and two adults at a kindergarten in northwest China yesterday, the latest in a string of assaults on the country's schools.
Eleven other children were hurt in yesterday's incident.
Killer Wu Huanming, 48, returned home after the attack on the outskirts of the city of Hanzhong in Shaanxi Province and committed suicide.
Xinhua news agency said Wu owned the property used by the kindergarten and had argued with the school manager, who was among the victims.
It was the fifth major assault on young students in China since late March and occurred despite increased security at schools countrywide, with gates and security cameras installed at some facilities and additional police and guards posted at entrances.
It was not clear if security had been beefed up at the school attacked yesterday as ordered by the city.
The latest deaths are sure to fuel speculation about why assailants - usually lone males - are targeting schools.
Sociologists say the attacks that have killed 17 and wounded more than five dozen reflect the consequences of ignoring mental illness.
"The perpetrators have contracted a 'social psychological infectious disease' that shows itself in a desireto take revenge on society," said Zhou Xiaozheng of Beijing's Renmin University.
"They pick children as targets because they are the weakest and most vulnerable," Zhou told The Associated Press.
The attack began about 8:20am as children were arriving at the private Shengshui Temple Kindergarten in Nanzheng County, a Hanzhong government statement said.
The area is on the city's rural outskirts in a relatively poor part of the country and images posted on the Internet showed the school, which had only about 20 students, housed in a tumbledown two-story farmhouse.
Wu killed the school's manager, Wu Hongying, 50, and a student on the spot, then hacked at 18 others, the government statement said.
Six students and Wu Hongying's mother, 80, later died in hospital.
Xinhua said Wu Huanming rented his house to Wu Hongying for the school without government approval.
He then demanded the property back, but Wu Hongying asked to hold on until the summer vacation.
The ages of the five boys and two girls killed were not disclosed, but kindergarten students would typically be 5 or younger.
The city statement vowed to "leave no stone unturned, learn from the mistakes and strictly ensure nothing happens like this again."
The city said about 2,000 police officers and security guards were detailed to patrol schools, kindergartens and surrounding areas last week.
Eleven other children were hurt in yesterday's incident.
Killer Wu Huanming, 48, returned home after the attack on the outskirts of the city of Hanzhong in Shaanxi Province and committed suicide.
Xinhua news agency said Wu owned the property used by the kindergarten and had argued with the school manager, who was among the victims.
It was the fifth major assault on young students in China since late March and occurred despite increased security at schools countrywide, with gates and security cameras installed at some facilities and additional police and guards posted at entrances.
It was not clear if security had been beefed up at the school attacked yesterday as ordered by the city.
The latest deaths are sure to fuel speculation about why assailants - usually lone males - are targeting schools.
Sociologists say the attacks that have killed 17 and wounded more than five dozen reflect the consequences of ignoring mental illness.
"The perpetrators have contracted a 'social psychological infectious disease' that shows itself in a desireto take revenge on society," said Zhou Xiaozheng of Beijing's Renmin University.
"They pick children as targets because they are the weakest and most vulnerable," Zhou told The Associated Press.
The attack began about 8:20am as children were arriving at the private Shengshui Temple Kindergarten in Nanzheng County, a Hanzhong government statement said.
The area is on the city's rural outskirts in a relatively poor part of the country and images posted on the Internet showed the school, which had only about 20 students, housed in a tumbledown two-story farmhouse.
Wu killed the school's manager, Wu Hongying, 50, and a student on the spot, then hacked at 18 others, the government statement said.
Six students and Wu Hongying's mother, 80, later died in hospital.
Xinhua said Wu Huanming rented his house to Wu Hongying for the school without government approval.
He then demanded the property back, but Wu Hongying asked to hold on until the summer vacation.
The ages of the five boys and two girls killed were not disclosed, but kindergarten students would typically be 5 or younger.
The city statement vowed to "leave no stone unturned, learn from the mistakes and strictly ensure nothing happens like this again."
The city said about 2,000 police officers and security guards were detailed to patrol schools, kindergartens and surrounding areas last week.
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