A knife-wielding man stabbed to death four primary school children in southern China on Friday, state media reported, the latest in a series of such attacks in recent years.
The stabbings occurred in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southern China, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing local authorities.
The attack took place in the town of Pingshan in Lingshan county as the students were on their way to school, the report added, citing the county public security bureau.
Three of the children died at the scene and the other died later in hospital, the report said.
Police are searching for the suspected assailant, described as middle-aged, the report said.
In early September, state media reported that a man stabbed three children and a teacher to death and wounded several others in a rampage at a primary school that refused to enrol his daughter.
2010 alone saw five similar incidents that killed 17 people -- 15 of them children -- and wounded more than 80.