A man killed eight people and wounded one more with a knife in central China, state media reported Friday, citing local authorities.
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The stabbing took place on Thursday morning in the city of Xiaogan in Hubei province, state broadcaster CCTV said.

The 53-year-old attacker surnamed Lu, had previously been treated for mental illness, it added.

He is being held by police, who are investigating the attack.
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The wounded person’s injuries were not life-threatening, according to state news agency Xinhua.

Mass violent crime is relatively rare in China, which strictly prohibits citizens from owning firearms, but there has been a spate of stabbings in recent years.

On Monday, a woman wielding a fruit knife killed two people and injured four more at a primary school in central Jiangxi province.

Also this month, two people were killed and 21 wounded after a man went on a stabbing spree at a hospital in southwest China’s Yunnan province.
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