2 children killed, 16 people stabbed at China kindergarten

The knife attack occurred on Wednesday afternoon in a township outside Beiliu, a city in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Past years have seen numerous knife attacks in China, usually perpetrated by people who were described as mentally or emotionally disturbed. This file photo shows a relative of a victim reacting after a knife attack in Changsha, in southern China's Hunan province.

Chinese state media say two children were killed and 16 other people were injured by a knife-wielding attacker at a kindergarten in a southern city.

The Xinhua News Agency said the attack occurred Wednesday afternoon in a township outside Beiliu, a city in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

It said a suspect has been arrested and an investigation is underway. Two of those injured were being treated for serious injuries, it said. It was clear if the injured were children or adults.

Past years have seen numerous such attacks , usually perpetrated by people who were described as mentally or emotionally disturbed or who bore grudges against the owners of such facilities.

Experts say China lacks sufficient capacity to diagnose and treat people with such conditions. The country tightly restricts access to guns, so knives are almost always used in such attacks.