WARNING: This story contains graphic images.

Ten children were wounded in a knife attack at the front gate of the Yangfan Elementary School in the Southern City of Haikou, Hainan yesterday.

The attacker chased after children, stabbing them as classes ended for the day before turning the knife on himself.

Six boys and four girls were taken to local hospitals for medical treatment. Two victims were in serious but not life-threatening condition, including a girl that was stabbed in the neck.

Police say the motive of the 30 something year-old suspect was unclear, and the investigation remains ongoing.

Knife attacks at Chinese schools have occurred regularly over the years, with perpetrators typically targeting China’s most vulnerable citizens.

On the first day of school in 2014, a knife-wielding attacker killed three people at a Hubei elementary school before committing suicide by jumping off the roof. Later that same month, four school children were killed in Guangxi as they walked to school in the early morning.

Arguably the worst knife attack in recent memory was a 2012 incident in which 23 children and one woman were wounded at a Henan elementary school. The attacker, Min Yongjun, suffered from epileptic seizures, while police said he believed in “doomsday rumors”.

Since this attack, security guards are posted at schools across the country which regularly practice drills against “anti-terrorism” attacks.