Knife man kills four children

Four children have been killed by a man armed with a kitchen knife who ran amok at a Japanese school, stabbing at least 29 people.

Fire department spokesman Tetsuo Higashimoto said two children were killed immediately, and another two died at hospitals shortly after.

Police said 26 children, including the four who died, and three teachers were injured in the attack.

A police spokesman said the stabbings occurred shortly after classes began at the elementary school in Osaka, western Japan.

He said the attacker, a 37-year-old man, who carried a knife with a six-inch blade, was arrested at the scene, but was also injured and taken to a local hospital.

The police spokesman said the severity of the victims’ injuries was not immediately known. He said it was also not clear exactly how many people were injured.

Tadao Yasuaki, a spokesman for Ikeda City Hospital, said eight children and a teacher were being treated there, and three of the children had serious injuries. He had no further details.

The attacker, identified as Mamoru Takuma, was taken into custody on the scene.

The school’s principal, Hisao Yoshiuchi, said details of the attack were sketchy.

He said there might have been more than one attacker, but had no further information.

‘‘We haven’t confirmed how many were injured yet,’’ he said.

National broadcaster NHK reported that 24 children and a man and a woman teacher were injured in the attack. It said most of the victims appeared to have suffered minor injuries.

It was not immediately clear what motivated the attack though NHK and other television networks reported that the attacker may have been under the influence of drugs.

Nearly 700 children attend the school where the attack happened.