Dad stabs three pupils to death in China

A father has killed three pupils during a stabbing spree at a primary school in China, Sky News reports.

The man broke into Dongfang Primary on the first day of term and stabbed eight pupils and a female teacher before jumping off the building to kill himself.

The suspect, named as Chen Yanfu, had a daughter at the school in Yunxi Country, Shiyan City.

The 40-year-old began the rampage after staff did not let his daughter register because she had not finished summer homework, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Huang Weixian, an official from the local education bureau, told Sky News the stabbed teacher had been trying to protect her pupils.

Of the four children who survived being stabbed, three suffered minor injuries and one was badly wounded, Mr Huang said.

One witness, Li Zhiguo, saw the suspect reach through a window and knife his 10-year-old daughter in the face, causing minor injuries.

Local police have sent more than 70 policemen to investigate, according to reports.

It is the second school stabbing this year.

In May, a man knifed and injured eight pupils in a primary school in another city in Hubei province.

There were five school stabbings in 2010, killing a total of 17 and wounding 80 others.