A man armed with a knife killed two women and attacked children and parents near an elementary school in suburban Shanghai yesterday, injuring 11 people.
Six of injured were under the age of 18, including an 11-year-old girl.
The suspect, surnamed Zang, was set upon by enraged parents and residents near the Jinhui Elementary School in Fengxian District and is now in police custody.
The two women, Zang's sister and his sister's mother-in-law, were found dead in their apartment.
Zang arrived in Shanghai from neighboring Jiangsu Province on Tuesday and went to the apartment to ask his relatives for money, according to neighbors.
When he was refused, an argument broke out. He returned yesterday afternoon, the neighbors said.
Police said the suspect began randomly attacking passersby near the building at around 4:20pm. Some people were injured during the attack while others were hurt trying to seize him, they said.
"I saw four people lying on the ground near the school with blood over their arms, legs, and almost every part of them. Three of them are pupils and the other one is probably a parent," a witness surnamed Li said.
Li said the attack happened as parents were gathered outside the school waiting for their children to come out.
A father surnamed Hu said the school had a rule that parents could only pick up their children outside the entrance, and they were terrified when they saw a man rushing to attack them, the Shanghai Evening News reported.
Teachers and security guards ushered pupils back into the school the moment they saw the attack, Hu told the newspaper.
An 11-year-old girl suffered a head wound and ran home crying. She was later taken to hospital, witnesses said.
The grandmother of a nine-year-old boy said a "strong man" had rushed at them with a knife while they were heading home from school.
The man attacked teachers, parents and their children, with many suffering head injuries, she said.
All the injured were said to be in a stable condition last night.
Suffering from shock
Many children who were not physically hurt in the incident were suffering from shock, parents told the newspaper.
Xia Yongxin, a 40-year-old father from Hunan Province, was seriously injured when he fought the attacker.
Xia had been on his way to a nearby school to pick up his child when he saw the man assaulting people. Xia said he picked up a shovel and rushed at the man, who then tried to get away.
Xia said he and some other parents made chase and when the man fell Xia jumped on him. But he was wounded in the head during the subsequent fight.
Doctors said that Xia sustained a serious scalp injury. He was in a stable condition after surgery but was very weak due to loss of blood.
An eight-second video clip uploaded by witnesses show the attacker being stopped by residents who beat and kicked him on the ground. Blood was seen on the street nearby.
Police said their investigations were continuing.
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