China hospital attack leaves more than 10 dead or wounded

BEIJING (AFP): An attack at a hospital in southwest China left more than 10 people dead or wounded on Tuesday, according to state media, which did not specify the nature of the attack.

“The incident occurred at a local hospital and as of 1:20 pm (0520 GMT)… more than 10 people have been wounded or killed,” state news agency Xinhua said.

The attack took place in Zhenxiong County in southwestern Yunnan province and authorities were investigating, it added.

Images published by the state-run news site The Paper appeared to show a man pointing a knife at another man wielding a stick in a hospital lobby, as well as police officers arriving at the scene.

“It happened around 11 in the morning… it’s still a bit chaotic, they’re still determining the numbers,” a local resident told The Paper.

Mass violent crime is rare in China, which strictly prohibits citizens from owning firearms, but there has been a spate of stabbings in recent years.

Last August in Yunnan, two people died and seven others were wounded after a man with a history of mental illness attacked people with a knife.

The month before that, six people were killed and one wounded in a kindergarten stabbing in southern China’s Guangdong province.

And in August 2022, three people were killed and six wounded in a knife attack at a kindergarten in southeast China’s Jiangxi province.