China Blames School Attack on Disgruntled Worker

A disgruntled worker allegedly took out his ire on schoolkids in Beijing on Tuesday morning. The New York Times cites the Xicheng district government in reporting that a 49-year-old maintenance worker identified only by his surname of Jia is in custody after 20 children were attacked with a hammer in six classrooms at the Beijing No. 1 Affiliated Elementary School of Xuanwu Normal School. Three sustained serious injuries, but all children are expected to survive. The government says the attack came after the worker's contract, which expires this month, was not renewed; the AP reports he had been employed through a labor service company and allegedly attacked the children with a hammer he used to complete repairs. (A stabbing attack at a Chinese school left more than a dozen kindergartners injured.)