A ten-year old boy attending a Japanese school in southern China is said to be in critical condition after being stabbed by a man on the streets on Wednesday.
The student was on his way to school, accompanied by his parent, when he was assaulted by a knife-wielding man in Shenzhen in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong on Wednesday morning.
The Japanese consulate general in Guangzhou early Thursday revealed that the boy remains in critical condition after being taken to a hospital.
As of half past midnight local time on Thursday, more than 16 hours after the attack, he was reportedly undergoing surgery.
Local police say the 44-year old suspect, who was apprehended at the scene, is likely to be undergoing interrogation. His motive remains unknown.
Japan’s consul-general in Guangzhou, Kijima Yoshiko, met with senior Shenzhen officials. She asked them to shed light on the case, provide details and come up with measures to prevent similar occurrences.
In response, the officials said they are praying for the boy’s safety, while the hospital is providing all the treatment it can. They also pledged to share details.
The school the victim attended will be closed for the rest of the week. Japanese consular officials are to keep in touch with the school while offering support to the boy’s family, his schoolmates and their families.
In June, another knife-wielding man attacked a bus of a Japanese school in Suzhou in the eastern province of Jiangsu.
A Japanese woman and her child were wounded. A female Chinese bus attendant who tried to stop the attack was stabbed to death.