Shanghai court: Killer who stabbed students has schizophrenia

A man accused of stabbing to death two Shanghai elementary students has schizophrenia and bears limited criminal responsibility, a court in the eastern Chinese metropolis heard on Thursday.

The defendant, a 29-year-old surnamed Huang, killed the 10-year-old boys outside Shanghai World Foreign Language Primary School on the morning of June 28. He also injured a third boy and a female passer-by.

Prosecutors said Huang had been frustrated by problems at work, leading him to commit the crime out of spite, the publicity department of Shanghai No 1 Intermediate People’s Court said in a statement Thursday.

Huang, a native of Shaoyang, Hunan province, traveled to Shanghai on Jun 6 and bought a stainless steel kitchen knife at a supermarket on Jun 12, according to the statement.

It said he had visited several primary schools and kindergartens before deciding to carry out the attack at Shanghai World Foreign Language Primary School in Xuhui district’s Pubei Road.

On June 28, Huang took a bus to the school. He stabbed three boys as they left the school and a passer-by about 130 meters from the school gate around 11:30 am, the statement said.

An appraisal presented in court showed Huang has schizophrenia and bears limited criminal responsibility, it said.

The statement added that prosecutors believed Huang’s act constituted intentional killing, while those bearing limited criminal responsibility can receive criminal punishment according to the law.

The court said sentencing will be announced later.