BEIJING — A Chinese man stabbed two people to death and injured 14 others in Beijing, state media said Friday, in an attack likely to highlight security fears ahead of China's National Day celebrations.
Beijing police said in a statement that Zhang Jianfei, a 46-year-old man from northeastern Jilin province, was arrested in connection with Thursday evening's assault near Tiananmen Square.
The police statement said 14 people were hurt but made no mention of any deaths, and police declined further comment when contacted by AFP.
The state Xinhua news agency said Zhang was drunk at the time of the attacks and that he had a history of creating "disturbances" while inebriated.
The South China Morning Post, however, quoted witnesses as saying three men rampaged down a narrow street in the capital's historic Qianmen area, slashing and stabbing passersby with long knives.
It said onlookers threw bricks and pieces of wood at the men.
The police statement made no mention of additional assailants.
The attack occurred just south of Tiananmen Square, where huge celebrations will be held on October 1 to mark the country's National Day.
Preparations for the holiday have included a huge security clampdown aimed at preventing any disruptions to the celebrations, with thousands of extra police stepping up security checks on highways and the underground rail system.
Authorities are already grappling with a wave of reported syringe attacks in the restive western province of Xinjiang, and have announced jail terms of up to 15 years for seven people.
In an apparent sign of official concern over the Beijing knife attacks, the state-run Global Times newspaper said mayor Guo Jinlong and the city's police chief both arrived at the scene shortly after the incident.
China is planning a military parade, mass song and dance performances, and fireworks centered on Tiananmen Square to celebrate the founding of the communist state 60 years ago.
A knife-wielding Chinese man stabbed to death a relative of the US Olympic volleyball coach last year just before the Beijing Games opened in an attack that raised fears about security.
The assailant then jumped to his death from Beijing's historic Drum Tower monument.
