Eight students killed in a Henan high school
(Xinhua/Agencies)
Updated: 2004-11-26 13:59

A man armed with a knife broke into a high school dormitory in central China late Thursday night, killing eight students and injuring four others.

Parents gather outside the No 2 High School in Ruzhou, a city in Henan Province, November 26, 2004. A man armed with a knife broke into the school dormitory late Thursday night, killing eight students and injuring four others. [Xinhua]

The man broke into the high school with a knife in his hand at 23:45 Thursday night and chopped eight people to death and four others to injury, according to the local police who got the urgent report at 2:00 a.m. Friday.

The killer escaped from the spot after killing and is still at large. The local police said that they are trying their best to hunt the suspect.

Police seal off the dormitory where eight students were killed by an armed man Thursday night in Ruzhou, Henan Province. [Xinhua]

The cause and identifications of all the victims and the suspect are under investigation, the local police said.

"The students were all sleeping when the incident happened," said an unidentified official at the No 2 High School in Ruzhou, a city in Henan Province.

"Students and teachers are calm now," she said. "Classes are still being held as usual today."

Police were searching for the attacker following the killings, according to a Xinhua News Agency report.

Students are evacuated from a Lanzhou middle school in Gansu Province when a shooting accident occurred in this September 26, 2002 file photo. Three students were injured and police shot the armed attacker to death. [newsphoto/file]

It said authorities also were investigating the motive and identifying the victims.

China traditionally has enjoyed a relatively low crime rate, but has suffered a series of knife attacks in schools and day-care centers in recent months.

The central government has ordered schools nationwide to tighten security by hiring guards and upgrading surveillance devices.

A man who slashed 25 children with a kitchen knife at a grade school in eastern China was executed Wednesday, The Associated Press reports. Though no one was killed in that attack, a court ruled that the penalty was justified because the violence was "especially cruel."

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