China school knife attacker sentenced to death

A court in eastern China has sentenced a man to death for knifing 29 children and three teachers in an attack on a kindergarten, state media reports. Xu Yuyuan was found guilty of attempted murder after a half-day trial at Taixing Intermediate Court in Jiangsu province, Xinhua reported. China school knife attacker sentenced to death Xu reportedly said his motive was to vent his rage against society. It was not clear whether he would appeal. All 32 victims survived April's attack at Taixing's Zhongxin Kindergarten. China has been rocked by a string of school attacks in the past two months, in which dozens have been killed or wounded. In response, the education ministry has ordered all schools to upgrade their security facilities, teach students about safety and ensure that young children were escorted home. Some local police authorities have distributed steel pitchforks and pepper spray to security guards in schools but such measures are considered expensive and their effectiveness is unproven. On Wednesday, seven children thought to be under the age of six and two adults were hacked to death at a kindergarten near Hanzhong city in Shaanxi province. The attacker later killed himself, Xinhua reported. In March, a man stabbed to death eight pupils at a school in Fujian province. He was executed soon afterwards. China has in the past had a comparatively low rate of violent crime, meaning the recent violence has been all the more shocking. There has been much speculation on the cause of the attacks, with some blaming inadequate provision for people with mental health issues. Others have suggested the attacks are a form of revenge on society by individuals with no outlet for their anger in a political environment heavily controlled by the ruling Communist Party. But reports in official media have generally played down any wider causes for the school attacks, portraying them as isolated incidents perpetrated by disturbed individuals.

China school knife attacker sentenced to death

Xu reportedly said his motive was to vent his rage against society. It was not clear whether he would appeal.

All 32 victims survived April's attack at Taixing's Zhongxin Kindergarten.

China has been rocked by a string of school attacks in the past two months, in which dozens have been killed or wounded.

In response, the education ministry has ordered all schools to upgrade their security facilities, teach students about safety and ensure that young children were escorted home.

Some local police authorities have distributed steel pitchforks and pepper spray to security guards in schools but such measures are considered expensive and their effectiveness is unproven.

On Wednesday, seven children thought to be under the age of six and two adults were hacked to death at a kindergarten near Hanzhong city in Shaanxi province. The attacker later killed himself, Xinhua reported.

In March, a man stabbed to death eight pupils at a school in Fujian province. He was executed soon afterwards.

China has in the past had a comparatively low rate of violent crime, meaning the recent violence has been all the more shocking.

There has been much speculation on the cause of the attacks, with some blaming inadequate provision for people with mental health issues.

Others have suggested the attacks are a form of revenge on society by individuals with no outlet for their anger in a political environment heavily controlled by the ruling Communist Party.

But reports in official media have generally played down any wider causes for the school attacks, portraying them as isolated incidents perpetrated by disturbed individuals.