CHINA: Neighbors shocked by latest attack on children parents escort children to school

Record ID: 352604

  • Title: CHINA: Neighbors shocked by latest attack on children parents escort children to school
  • Date: 14th May 2010
  • Summary: BEIJING, CHINA (MAY 13,2010) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF PRE-SCHOOL
  • Embargoed: 29th May 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China
  • Country: China
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement
  • Reuters ID: LVA130PVCXQY33VAFUV0WSSS1HW2
  • Story Text: Neighbours were in shock on Thursday (May 13) after a Chinese man hacked to death seven young children and two adults after a dispute over the lease of a private kindergarten.
    Wu Huanming hacked five boys and two girls to death with a cleaver in the kindergarten and also adults Wu Hongying and her 80-year-old mother on Wednesday (May 12), the latest in a series of deadly attacks on schools.
    Wu, the owner of the two-storey building with a walled, concrete courtyard, returned home and committed suicide, Xinhua news agency said.
    Wu had wanted the kindergarten to vacate the property when the lease ran out in April, Xinhua said.
    "He was renting out property. He wanted this property back but the contract had not expired yet. This dispute happened many times but was never resolved. I don't think he has any psychological problems," said local resident Su Quanling.
    Coming soon after the government vowed to protect schools, the latest attack was a blow for the ruling Communist Party, which has long made a tough stance on law and order a part of its claim to authority.
    "He was very good to his mother. He was not an impolite person. When this happened yesterday we could not believe it," said Feng Minying, a neighbour.
    This was the sixth attack on schoolchildren in China since March. A succession of attacks that had already prompted calls for more security at schools and worries about the social malaise that some see underneath China's rapid economic growth.
    "We cannot predict that things like this will happen. So we need to protect our children better," said one resident, who declined to be identified.
    The succession of bloody assaults on schools has prompted officials to demand a show of force to deter such attacks, which have angered the Chinese public and stoked criticism of the government. State media reported on Thursday that some schools were being guarded by police wielding submachine guns.
    In China's capital Beijing, residents escorted their children to school watched over by groups of volunteers in red arm bands and the occasional policeman.
    "At the moment the deep social conflict has been reflected onto real life. The gap between the rich and poor is too wide. So there may be people who have developed an anti-social personality. This kind of person cannot be controlled by security measures. First we need to resolve social conflict and let people live a dignified life. This is the most important thing. If you cannot ensure this then no matter whether my child is at kindergarten, primary school or middle school I cannot be certain that they will be safe at school," said Ms Sun as she took her child to school.
    Triggers for the attacks have included pent-up grievances over lost jobs, business failures, broken relationships, and a new home that officials had ordered torn down.
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