The incident took place around 7.40 am local time on Monday in Hengshan town within Lianjiang, in Guangdong province, police said in a statement, which called the attack an “intentional injury.”
State-run tabloid Global Times said the attacker had used a knife and that police were still confirming victims’ identities.
Citing witnesses, it said the casualties include one teacher, two parents and three children.
Police arrested the suspect, a 25-year-old man surnamed Wu, shortly after at around 8 am. The case is now under investigation, according to the statement.
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Video footage from the scene, which circulated online and was then obtained and distributed by Reuters news service, show the assault took place outside a kindergarten.
The video shows concerned residents passing by the site of the attack, where a sign outside reads “kindergarten,” and police tape being put up.
CNN cannot independently verify details about the victims or the method of attack, and has reached out to local officials.
China has faced a spate of mass stabbings in recent years, often targeting children; a 2020 knife attack at an elementary school injured 37 children in the southern Guangxi region, while a 2022 stabbing at a kindergarten killed three in eastern Jiangxi province.
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