Janitor Injures 20 Children With Hammer at Xicheng School
Beijing authorities have detained a man suspected of carrying out an attack on Tuesday, Jan 8, that left 20 children wounded at Beijing No. 1 Affiliated Elementary School of Xuanwu Normal School in Xicheng District. Police said the
suspect, a 49-year-old male surnamed Jia, assaulted the children with a
hammer after his contract with the school’s labor company was not
renewed. Police said the contract is due to expire this month.
Three of the children who had serious but non-life-threatening injuries are now receiving treatment in the nearby Xuanwu Hospital.
South China Morning Post quoted a doctor from the hospital as saying on social media: “The mayor came to the hospital today to wait with us while the children were being medically treated. We have paused several operations to save all the children.”
[The hospital has] paused several operations to save all the children.
Beijing police said the attack happened after 11.15am. Video footage widely shared on social media showed a meeting between staff and angry parents, with the head teacher saying the attacker was a “school worker,” and that the victims were second graders.
Police detained a man in relation to Tuesday's school attack shortly after the incident
Initially, there were conflicting reports about what weapon had been used in the attack, with one parent claiming the victims were “all younger students and were stabbed by an adult.” It is now understood that the attacker used a hammer.
Reports of violent attacks are rare in China, but there are incidents that have received national attention. Last week, a court in southern China ordered the execution of a man who injured 12 children in a knife attack at a nursery in January 2017. None of the children died but four of them were seriously injured. State media said the attacker, later identified as Qin Peng'an, carried out the attack “in revenge for his life not going as he wanted” and over a dispute with a neighbor.
This article originally appeared on our sister account beijingkids.
Photos: Global Times (via Twitter.com), South China Morning Post (scmp.com)
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