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14 Children Injured In Knife Attack At Kindergarten In China

Ambulance cars take injured children to a hospital after several kindergartners were stabbed by a woman on Friday in Chongqing, China.
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Ambulance cars take injured children to a hospital after several kindergartners were stabbed by a woman on Friday in Chongqing, China.

A knife-wielding woman stabbed 14 children at a kindergarten in the Chinese city of Chongqing on Friday, according to police statements.

The attack took place as children were returning to classes, according to The Associated Press.

CGTN reports that a 39-year-old woman with the surname Liu was taken into custody after she was restrained by the kindergarten's teachers and security guard.

Videos from the event circulating on social media are disturbing: Some young children stand still, covered in blood, as wailing adults try to guide them out of the schoolyard. Other children lie on gurneys carried by medical personnel.

Some onlookers tried to hit the suspect as she was detained by authorities.

All victims have been hospitalized and are receiving treatment, according to police. Authorities denied rumors on social media that two children died, according to the BBC.

As the BBC reports,

"Violent crime is relatively rare in China, but it has faced a string of unrelated knife attacks in school and kindergartens in recent years.

They have usually been carried out by people seeking revenge against officials or individuals, or who are suffering from mental health problems.

In April, nine middle school students died when a 28-year-old man attacked them as they were on their way home.

He reportedly claimed he had been bullied at the school as a child. He was executed in September."

A crowd gathered outside the scene. Chongqing resident Xia Yang told CNN the incident shocked the city.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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