A student attending a Japanese school in China is attacked and a suspect is in custody

BEIJING -- A 10-year-old student attending a Japanese school in southern China was attacked Wednesday and a suspect is in custody, officials said.

The student was stabbed by a man about 200 meters (220 yards) from the gate of the Shenzhen Japanese School, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lin Jian said in a daily briefing.

"The injured student was sent to hospital immediately and is being rescued with all-out efforts. The attacker was arrested on site. The case is still being further investigated,” Lin said.

The motive for the attack in the city of Shenzhen was not immediately clear.

In an email sent to Japanese citizens living in China, the Japanese Embassy warned residents to be vigilant and take precautions, citing knife attacks in recent months. The Japanese Consulate in Guangzhou, which is responsible for Shenzhen, called for measures to prevent such incidents.

On June 24th, a knife attack at a school bus stop for a Japanese school in the southeastern city of Suzhou killed a Chinese national who was trying to stop the attacker and injured a Japanese mother and her child.

Earlier in June, a Chinese man stabbed four U.S. university instructors at a public park in Jilin in the northeast and a Chinese person who tried to intervene. The four instructors from Cornell College were teaching at Beihua University. None was in critical condition.