BEIJING (REUTERS) - A man armed with a knife forced his way into a primary school in central China on the first day back from the summer vacation on Monday and stabbed nine people, killing three, state media said.

It was unclear how many of the victims were children.

State news agency Xinhua said on its microblog that the man later jumped to his death. It was not immediately clear what motivated the attack.

The stabbings occurred in Shiyan in Hubei province. A local government official told Reuters by telephone that they had no comment on the case.

There have been a series of attacks on schools and children around China in recent years. The rash of violence has prompted public calls for more measures to protect the young in a country where many couples only have one child.