Five killed, 15 injured in street knife rampage in eastern China

At least five people have been killed and 15 injured in a knife attack in China’s eastern Anhui province. A lone attacker stabbed people at random on a shopping street in the city of Anqing, the local police said.

A knifeman went on a stabbing spree in a busy pedestrian shopping street around 16:30 local time (08:30 GMT), a local police department said, in a statement published on the Chinese social media.

The attack claimed the lives of five people and left 15 injured, the police confirmed. The officers that arrived at the scene detained the knifeman. The reason for the attack is unknown so far and a probe has been launched into the incident, the police added.

Some unverified photos and videos published on social media show people lying and sitting on the street amid pools of blood as police officers and medics administer first aid. Some other videos also supposedly show a group of police officers escorting the alleged suspect after his arrest.

WARNING: GRAPHIC VIDEO

Some other footage demonstrated Anqing residents lining up to donate blood. Earlier, a local blood bank called on people to help those injured as blood reserves were running low, Chinese media said.

China has seen a string of attacks on schools and day-care centers over the past few years. In April, a man armed with a knife injured 16 children and two teachers at a kindergarten in the southern Chinese city of Beiliu. The suspect, who was also detained by the police, suffered from a mental illness, according to local media.

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