Authorities in Hubei province have launched a thorough investigation on the knife-attack inside a Chinese primary school Tuesday, which resulted to the injuries of eight schoolchildren, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

The police and local officials of the province were establishing the possibility that the knife-attack, carried out by a 35-year-old man surnamed Chen, could be linked to the series of knife attacks that the central government has considered as acts of terrorism.

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On Tuesday, the knife-wielding suspect barged into a primary school in Macheng and, without provocation, started stabbing children using a kitchen knife. As of this posting, no fatalities were reported and Xinhua said only one of the eight victims suffered serious injuries.

School authorities immediately notified the police, who launched an operation that arrested the suspect at the scene. The eight injured schoolchildren were rushed to the hospital for treatment.

The Xinhua report did not detail how Chen managed to get inside the school and how he was neutralized and prevented from further slashing more students before the police arrived. The incident occurred around 12:28 p.m.

Sources said the police were investigating if Chen is connected with an extremist group that has launched a series of terroristic attacks using knives in public places, including train stations and markets.

The Chinese government has intensified its campaign against terrorism in the country and vowed to use the full force of law to combat secessionists and extremists following the series of knife attacks over the course of less than one year.

Tuesday's attack inside a primary school, however, was not the first time that attacks on children took place. In 2010, a spate of five incidents resulted to the deaths of 17 people, 15 of them children, and injured more than 80 others.

Last March, six children died when a man went on a rampage outside a school in Shanghai.

TagsChina Stabbing, China School Stabbing, China Primary School Stabbing, School stabbing China