7 children, 1 teacher killed in new China attack The Associated Press

 , Beijing | Wed, 05/12/2010 11:02 AM | World
An attacker hacked seven children and one teacher to death Wednesday and wounded 20 others in a violent rampage at a kindergarten in northwest Shaanxi province - the latest in a string of attacks on schools, a government official said.

The slayings occurred despite a countrywide increase in security at schools, with additional police and guards posted at school gates.

The official Xinhua News Agency said the attack happened at 8 a.m. (0000 GMT) Wednesday at a kindergarten in Nanzheng county of Hanzhong city. It did not give the ages of the victims or say who attacked them.

Liu Xiaoming, deputy director of the propaganda department of Hanzhong city, confirmed that seven children were killed and that about 20 others had been wounded.

"The murderer killed himself afterward," Liu told The Associated Press. He said he did not have any other information.

The attack comes after three similar ones at schools and kindergartens late last month left dozens of children injured, and raised questions on security and issues of massive social inequalities believed to play a role in the violence.