China charges suspect in school stabbing that killed 9

BEIJING (REUTERS) - A Chinese prosecutor has charged a suspect in a school knife attack with intentional homicide over the incident that killed nine students and left 10 in hospital, official Xinhua news agency said on Tuesday (May 29).

Zhao Zewei, 28, is accused of attacking 19 students near a middle school in Mizhi county in China's north-western province of Shaanxi on April 27, the agency said.

No details of a possible motive for the attack were provided, Xinhua added. In April, state media had said the suspect sought payback for bullying he had suffered at school.

Reuters could not reach Zhao, who has been detained by police since the day of the attack, for comment.

Violent crime is rarer in China than many other countries, especially in major cities where security is tight. Recent years have seen a series of knife and axe attacks, however, including one this year in Beijing, the capital.

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