Bio

Wu Huanming was a local man from Nanzheng County, Hanzhong, in Shaanxi Province, China. Contemporary reports identified him as 48 years old at the time of the attack. Public sources do not give a verified full birthdate, family history, education record, or detailed employment history, so those details should not be added without stronger documentation.

Wu owned the two-storey building used by the private Shengshui Temple Kindergarten. The kindergarten was operated by Wu Hongying, a 50-year-old woman. Reports stated that Wu Huanming had rented the property to her but wanted the kindergarten to vacate after the lease expired in April 2010. Wu Hongying wanted to keep the school operating until the summer break.

The dispute over the property was reported as the likely trigger for the attack. Reuters stated that villagers saw an argument between Wu Huanming and Wu Hongying before the violence. Al Jazeera, citing Xinhua, also reported that the motive was tied to the lease disagreement.

Murder Story

On the morning of May 12, 2010, children were arriving at the privately run Shengshui Temple Kindergarten in Linchang Village, Shengshui Township, Nanzheng County, near Hanzhong, Shaanxi Province. Wu Huanming entered the kindergarten armed with a cleaver.

According to Associated Press reporting based on local government and Xinhua information, the attack began at about 8:20 a.m. Wu killed the school administrator, Wu Hongying, and one child at the scene. He then attacked others inside the kindergarten. Six more students and Wu Hongying’s mother later died in hospital.

The victims were seven children and two adults. Xinhua reported that the children killed were five boys and two girls. The adult victims were Wu Hongying, 50, and her 80-year-old mother, Su Runhua. Eleven other children were injured and hospitalized.

Reuters reported that the attack followed a lease dispute. Wu Huanming owned the building and wanted the kindergarten to leave after the lease expired, while Wu Hongying wanted to continue until summer. A villager told Reuters that Wu ran back into his home to get a cleaver before the attack.

After the killings, Wu Huanming returned home and committed suicide. Reports did not consistently give a fully verified method of suicide, so the safest profile wording is simply that he committed suicide after returning home.

The attack happened during a wave of school attacks in China in 2010. AP reported that it was the fifth major assault on young students since late March, and VOA reported that authorities increased school security after the series of attacks.

The kindergarten was later sealed off, and local and national authorities ordered stronger school-security measures. Reports said the attacks caused public fear and led to more police and security guards being placed near schools and kindergartens.