3 kids, teacher die in attack

A KNIFE-WIELDING man went on a slashing rampage in a kindergarten in eastern China, leaving three children and one teacher dead in the country’s latest school attack, area residents said.

Officials refused to release details of the attack, saying they feared reports could inspire copycat killers. The assault was the latest in a spate of gory rampages this year in schools and in public spaces that have left dozens of people dead and scores wounded.

The unidentified assailant entered the school in a suburb of Zibo in Shandong province at about 4 pm as parents were picking up their children, people living nearby said.

About 20 children and staff members were injured, two of the children seriously, they said.

Authorities have responded with increased security at schools and orders to limit media coverage of the attacks to discourage more violence and calm public fears.

A woman who works in a restaurant opposite the said the attacker was a man aged 27 or 28 who gained entry to the school by posing as a parent.

The Zibo killings came just two days after a man driving an earth mover in Hebei province to the west went on a rampage, smashing vehicles and buildings and leaving 17 dead.