After failing to graduate, student kills 8, injures 17 in China

A stabbing attack at a vocational school in the eastern Chinese city of Wuxi has left eight people dead and 17 others injured, local police said.

The attack took place at the Wuxi Vocational Institute of Arts and Technology in Yixing, a smaller city within Wuxi, at around 6.30pm on Saturday (local time), the Yixing police said in a statement.

The suspect, a 21-year old male student surnamed Xu, was detained on site.

Police said he had failed his examinations, could not graduate, and that he was dissatisfied about his pay at an internship. He decided to vent his frustrations via the attack, the statement said.

Videos circulating on Western social media platforms such as X showed injured people lying on the street after the attack while others rushed to help. On Chinese social media platforms such as Weibo, keyword searches of the attack turn up the police statement but no videos or images related to the attack.

The Chinese government often censors internet content if it’s deemed overly sensitive or political. Most Western social media sites and search engines such as Google are blocked behind what's commonly known as the Great Firewall, which regulates what is accessible within China.

It was the second deadly attack within a week after a man drove his car into people at a sports facility in the southern city of Zhuhai, leaving 35 people dead and injured 43 others.