NOS News•today, 10:03•Amended today, 11:06
Two people were killed and 21 injured in a knife attack at a hospital in southwestern China, Reuters news agency reported, citing local media. The attack took place at a hospital in the city of Zhaotong in Yunnan province.
The suspect is a local villager, reports a local medium in Yunnan, which Reuters quotes.
A photo published by government-controlled news site The Paper shows a man in the hospital hallway pointing a knife at another person, who is himself holding a long stick. The Paper also shares images of police officers arriving at the hospital.
Local media report that a suspect has been arrested, but this has not yet been officially confirmed. A motive for the attack is also not yet known.
Knife attacks in China
Violent attacks like this are uncommon in China, where citizens are not allowed to own firearms. But there has been a wave of stabbings in recent years.
There were several knife attacks at schools. In 2020, a security guard at a kindergarten in the south of the country injured 39 people with a knife, including 37 children. And last year, six people were killed in a stabbing at a kindergarten, including three children.
