Lease row behind China school attack

A CHINESE man who hacked to death seven young children and two adults in the latest in a series of deadly assaults on schools lashed out after an argument over a nursery school lease, neighbours and state media said.

The succession of bloody assaults on schools has prompted officials to demand a show of force to deter such attacks, which have angered the Chinese public and stoked criticism of the government.

Villagers in Shaanxi province watched on Wednesday as an argument erupted between the attacker, Wu Huanming, 48, and Wu Hongying, the woman who ran the school where the attack occurred.