Kindergarten bomb
Eight killed in explosion
A YOUNG man with mental problems made the bomb that exploded at the front gate of a kindergarten in eastern China, killing eight people, including himself, investigators say.
Police say the suspect, Xu, 22, was identified primarily using security camera footage and DNA collected at the scene of the blast, which struck on Thursday as relatives were waiting to pick up students at the end of the school day.
No motive was immediately apparent. Investigators said they found materials for making a bomb at Xu’s nearby residence. Emblazoned on its walls were the Chinese characters for death, disaster and other related dark themes.
Xu had left school because of a nervous system disorder, whose symptoms can include depression, anxiety, dizziness, vision problems and problems with basic bodily functions, police said at a news conference in the city of Xuzhou, in Jiangsu province.
Two people died at the scene and six died after being taken to a hospital.
Eight of the 65 people injured were listed in critical condition.
The blast at the Chuangxin Kindergarten occurred at 4.50pm, before school had let out for the day and local authorities said no students or teachers from the kindergarten were among the injured.
But videos said to be from the scene showed children — possibly relatives of the kindergarten children or passersby — among the casualties.
A witness named as Shi said the force of the blast sent people flying metres into the air.
Videos posted by the People’s Daily showed a chaotic scene, with children and adults lying on the ground, some of them motionless, their clothes blown off them, and others struggling to get up.
Clothing, shoes and other items were strewn across the area beside pools of blood.
The videos showed ambulances arriving and medical personnel treating appeared to be a child.
Kindergartens and elementary schools in China have been attacked several times before by suspects authorities have said were mentally ill or bore grudges against their neighbours and society. what