A man with a history of mental illness has stabbed to death seven people, including six nurses, at a hospital in the resort town of Beidaihe, China.

The quiet beach resort town was stunned by the killings, which were reportedly perpetrated by Li Xiaolong, who was also an employee at the hospital, reports Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. The attack took place at a female dormitory in the hospital.

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Xiaolong, 27, has been detained by police.

This is not the first time there been a knife attack at a hospital in China, but recent incidents have come from disgruntled patients, rather than a fellow employee. In January, a man received the death penalty for killing a doctor in Zhejiang.  Another man, who was upset over his circumcision, stabbed a doctor to death in Jiangsu in April.

Police say there was no known motive for the attack, and said that Xiaolong was not known to have any problems with the coworkers he attacked.

That hospitals in China have been the site of many stabbings stems from the fact that they are often very overcrowded, and are staffed by overworked, underpaid doctors and nurses. This leads to corruption and the reputation that medical staff are more interested in making money by prescribing unnecessary drugs and treatment than making people well.

Chinese government data shows that violent attacks on doctors and nurses reached 17,243 cases in 2010, the latest year for which such figures are available, reports The Guardian.

TagsKnife-Wielding Maniac Kills Seven at Hospital in China, Beidaihe, seven killed, six nurses, Li Xiaolong, stabbed to death