• The suspect, a man from Poji town, is believed to be involved.
• Initial reports suggested 23 people were injured, but the toll has been revised.
• Police are investigating the incident, with police vehicles and officers stationed outside the hospital.

At least two people have died and 21 others injured in a knife attack at Zhenxiong People’s Hospital in Yunnan province, southwest China. Police reported the stabbing occurred at 11:37 local time (03:37 GMT). China’s The Paper published images showing a man in black, wielding knives in both hands, inside the hospital.

Police stated that the suspect hails from Poji town in Zhenxiong. It remains unclear whether authorities have arrested him. Earlier reports from state media indicated 23 people were injured, but officials have since revised the toll downwards.

“At present, the injured are receiving treatment in the hospital. Investigations are ongoing,” police said in a statement.

Footage on The Paper also depicted police vehicles and at least a dozen police officers outside the hospital. The entrance to the hospital’s carpark seemed to have been cordoned off. “The situation remains quite chaotic; they’re still determining the numbers. The police are actively addressing it,” a resident informed The Paper.

Chinese news reports that authorities have instructed residents and merchants in the neighborhood to “lock their doors” and “avoid contact with unknown persons.” While firearms are banned in China, the country has witnessed a spate of knife attacks in recent years.

In August last year, a man with a history of mental illness killed two people and injured seven others by attacking them with a knife in a residential district in Yunnan. In July of the same year, a stabbing at a kindergarten in the southeastern province of Guangdong resulted in the deaths of six people, including three children.

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