China kindergarten blast: Bomber among 8 dead, at least 65 injured
An explosion at the gates of a Chinese kindergarten that killed eight people was caused by a 22-yearold man who died in the blast, police said on Friday.
Police identified the suspect as Xu, a local resident of Quanshan District, Xuzhou of Jiangsu Province. Bomb-making materials were found in the flat where he lived, Xinhua news agency reported.
The words "die" and "death" had been scrawled on the walls of his flat. Xu worked near the kindergarten and was allegedly diagnosed with a neurological disorder.
The explosion took place on Thursday at the entrance to the kindergarten in Fengxian County as children were being picked up by their parents. At least 65 people were injured in the blast, among whom eight were in critical condition.
The incident is being treated as a criminal act. Fengxian officials said none of the children or teachers at the kindergarten were among the casualties.
In a video footage broadcast by CCTV news, adults and children were seen lying on the ground that was stained with blood.
Some of the injured were seen trying to get up while others shouted for help.
Deputy Minister of Public Security Huang Ming arrived at the site to oversee investigations, while Public Security Minister Guo Shengkun ordered beefing up security at other densely populated areas.
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 neighbors and society.
The authorities have said that no children or teachers from the kindergarten were killed in the explosion in Xuzhou on Thursday, which injured 65 people. Most of the victims appeared to be parents and grandparents, who were lining up outside the school gate to pick up students, according to interviews with relatives and hospital officials.
In 2010, nearly 20 children were killed in attacks on schools, prompting a response from top government officials and leading many schools to beef up security by posting guards and installing gates and other barriers. Last year, a knife-wielding assailant injured seven students outside a primary school in a northern city.