Reports said that a vehicle struck and injured several children outside an elementary school located in Hunan Province, central China. The number of casualties was not known for several hours after the incident. Authorities had yet to determine if the accident was a result of a deliberate act or an accident. This incident comes after several recent attacks or killings in China, which involved people using knives or driving vehicles.

According to state media, students were arriving at Yong’an Elementary School in Changde around 8 a.m. when a white SUV drove through a crowd of adults and children. China tends to hide news of major accidents, crimes, and protests that might undermine public confidence in its self-declared ability to maintain social order.

Several adults also suffered injuries, according to Xinhua News Agency. The agency added that the driver had been subdued and the security guards were able to take him down. Some of the injured people were taken straight away to hospital.

The police in Dingcheng, the district where the school is situated, released a statement stating that no one was seriously injured and identifying Huang as the 39-year-old driver who had been detained. The police said that the incident is under investigation, but did not provide any further details.

On Chinese social media, footage was posted showing the injured lying in the road as terrified students ran through the schoolhouse and past the gate.

The comments on Chinese websites reflected anger and frustration with the recurring violence against citizens.

Although China’s violence is lower than in many other countries – personal gun ownership is illegal – knife attacks and homemade explosives are still common.

Numerous attacks on Chinese schools were perpetrated by individuals armed with knives and/or using vehicles as weapons. Eight people were killed and 17 injured in a stabbing attack on a vocational school located in Wuxi, a city located in eastern China.

This happened shortly after a driver drove into people in a sports complex in Zhuhai’s southern city, killing 35 and leaving 43 injured.

In September, 15 people were injured and three killed in a knife attack at a Shanghai supermarket. The police said that the suspect was upset about personal finances and had come to Shanghai “to vent his anger.”

In the same month, on his way to Shenzhen in southern China, a Japanese student was stabbed and died.

Some images from the incident at the school were removed quickly by Chinese authorities. In China, most Western social media websites and search engines such as Google are blocked. This limits the content available even though some people use VPNs to send news via Chinese social media.