"At 18:10 local time [12:37 GMT] on April 27, a suspect attacked students leaving the No. 3 middle school in Mizhi County [in Shaanxi province], hurting 12 students, with 7 of them dead from the injuries. The suspect is in custody. The injured students are being treated," the statement published on the official Weibo account of Mizhi County's publicity office read.
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The assailant is a local resident from Mizhi County, who dropped out of the same school he attacked and is still under the age of 18, Shanghai-based Jiemian News reported, quoting a source from the local police.
An unidentified man has attacked children at a Chinese school, killing at least seven and wounding 19 — reports https://t.co/loRjRT5iu2 (photos: sina agency) pic.twitter.com/G9UeZxroHu
— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) 27 апреля 2018 г.
Most of the victims were female students, as they couldn't escape from the scene fast enough on foot, the police source said.
Pictures circulated on Chinese social media, believed to be from the crime scene, showed victims in school uniforms lying in a pool of blood and a male suspect wearing a black jacket and blue jeans being detained by the police.