At least 10 killed in hospital attack in southwest China, suspect arrested

BEIJING – Chinese state media are reporting a knife attack with possible fatalities at a hospital in the southwest of the country.

The official Xinhua News Agency said there were more than 10 victims in what it called a “vicious attack” in Yunnan province on Tuesday. An online report from Guizhou provincial television quoting unnamed authorities said two people had died and 23 people were injured.

A suspect was arrested, the Guizhou TV report said. The attack occurred at the Zhenxiong County People’s Hospital in Zhaotong City.

A witness told Red Star News, an online portal, that he narrowly escaped the attack and that one or more doctors were among the injured. The witness’s video showed people bleeding and falling to the ground, as well as an elderly person trying to help another, a Red Star social media post said.

Knife attacks have occurred in China before, often in kindergartens. Last July, a man with a knife killed six people and injured another at a kindergarten in southeast China’s Guangdong province.