A janitor wielding a kitchen knife stabbed 15 children and at least two teachers at a kindergarten in the Chinese capital on Wednesday, killing one child and leaving others covered in blood from their wounds.
Suspect Xu Heping, 51, put up a fight before he was captured by eight police who rushed to the kindergarten affiliated to the Peking University No 1 Hospital, China Central Television (CCTV) reported. "This is probably the worst attack on children in the capital in decades," a CCTV report said.
One child and a teacher who sustained serious neck wounds were in critical condition, a city official and state media said. A child listed earlier as being in critical condition died of neck wounds, the official Xinhua news agency said.
A reporter saw "children stained with fresh blood and with horrified expressions" at the hospital emergency room doors, Xinhua said. The children were aged five and six.
"All medical experts with the hospital were called together to rescue the seriously wounded," the agency said.
The attacker's motive was unclear and under investigation, Xinhua said.
A Beijing city government spokesman confirmed the details of the Xinhua report.
"We are still in the process of learning about the case. We still haven't received any further results," he said.
Later, the city said in a fax Xu was schizophrenic and had been treated in hospital for the mental illness.
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