The explosion at a kindergarten in eastern China that killed at least eight people and wounded over 60 others Thursday was the result of a homemade bomb detonated outside the school, police revealed.
The bomber was a 22-year-old dropout with a history of neurological issues, authorities investigating the blast at Chuangxin Kindergarten in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province said Friday. “The explosion was caused by a homemade explosive device,” Pei Jun, deputy head of the Jiangsu Public Security Office said at a press conference, putting the blame on a man surnamed Xu who was killed by the explosion.
Police found bomb-making equipment at the suspect’s home, and the words “death” and “kill” were scribbled on the wall. “Materials for making an explosive device were found at his room, and words such as ‘die’ were written on the wall,” Pei explained to reporters, adding, “At this point, we believe the case is solved.”
The attacker reportedly lived near the school he bombed. He had a strange manifesto written on his walls.
“Crime equals giving birth, two people commit a crime, two people die, group commits a crime, group dies, country commits a crime, country dies, ethnic group commits a crimes, ethnic group dies, India, China and Bangladesh, none will meet a good end,” the handwritten statement read.
No teachers or students were wounded or killed in the bombing. The explosive device went off outside the main gate before students got out of school. Videos and photos from the scene of the attack showed children among the injured, with one in a woman’s arms and another on the ground.
Images from the school show significant debris scattered about, and pools of blood can be seen here and there. While some of the victims died outside the kindergarten, others passed away later at the hospital.
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Schools and children are often the targets of attacks in China, and there have been a number of serious incidents in recent years.
In May, a bus driver, angry over lost overtime wages, set fire to a bus packed with kindergarten students in Shandong Province. In January, another man stabbed 11 children at a school in Guangxi Province. There have been numerous other examples from all over the country over the years.
Some observers attribute the rise in attacks on societal stress, while others point to improper care for the mentally ill and a dysfunctional legal system that often fails to address the demands of those who feel they have been treated unfairly.
In the wake of the latest school attack, the Chinese Ministry of Education issued a statement demanding that school security be upgraded to better protect students and teachers.
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