An unidentified man wielding a knife killed eight students and injured four others Thursday night at the No. 2 Senior Middle School in Ruzhou City, central China's Henan Province.

Local police say that the man broke into the boys' dormitory at 11:45 PM Thursday carrying the knife that he used to stab eight sleeping students to death and wound another four. The police did not receive a report of the emergency until 2:00 AM Friday.

The killer escaped from the school and remains at large.

Local police have a description of the suspect and are working to identify him. They are also still confirming identities of all of the victims and attempting to determine the cause of the attack.

The incident follows a string of school knife attacks and kidnappings around the country that has left two small children and one teacher dead, and dozens of others wounded.

The incidents prompted President Hu Jintao to issue a directive in September ordering all schools to hire guards and tighten security.

Henan schools have already seen their share of tragedy this year. A middle school classroom collapsed in July, injuring 20, and a kindergarten collapsed in August, killing two and injuring 28.

Ruzhou, located about 100 kilometers southwest of the provincial capital of Zhengzhou, has administrative authority over about 900,000 citizens, most of whom live in rural areas.

(Xinhua News Agency, China.org.cn November 26, 2004)