School attacker uses cleaver to kill nine

The killer, 48-year-old Wu Huanming, returned home after the attack on the outskirts of the city of Hanzhong and committed suicide.

Wu owned the property used by the school and apparently argued with the school's manager, who was among the victims.

It was the fifth major assault on school pupils in China since late March and occurred despite increased security at schools across the country.

The latest deaths seem certain to fuel speculation about why attackers –usually lone males – are targeting schools. Sociologists say the recent attacks that have killed 17 people and wounded more than 60 reflect the consequences of ignoring mental illness and rising stress resulting from huge social inequalities in China's fast-changing society.

The latest attack began at about 8.20am as children were arriving at the private Shengshui Temple Kindergarten in Hanzhong's Nanzheng county.

The school, which had only about 20 students, was in a rundown two-storey farmhouse.

Wu killed the school's manager and a pupil on the spot, then hacked at 18 others.

Six children and Wu Hongying's 80-year-old mother later died in

hospital.