The incident happened in China’s eastern city of Wuxi (Representational)

A man killed eight people and wounded one more with a knife in central China, state media reported on May 24, citing local authorities.

The stabbing took place on Thursday morning in the city of Xiaogan in Hubei province, state broadcaster CCTV said.

The 53-year-old attacker surnamed Lu had previously been treated for mental illness, it added.

He is being held by police, who are investigating the attack.

The wounded person’s injuries were not life-threatening, according to state news agency Xinhua.

Mass violent crime is relatively rare in China, which strictly prohibits citizens from owning firearms, but there has been a spate of stabbings in recent years.

On Monday, a woman wielding a fruit knife killed two people and injured four more at a primary school in central Jiangxi province.

Also this month, two people were killed and 21 wounded after a man went on a stabbing spree at a hospital in southwest China’s Yunnan province.