China Fires Officials over School Stabbings

Community outcry over indifference of authorities

Chinese authorities have fired six officials for their "improper handling" of last week's knife attack at an elementary school in a central province that left 23 students injured.

The official Xinhua news agency said Tuesday two school principals, two police officers, a local safety official, and a county education director were removed from their posts.

Twenty-three students and an elderly villager were injured Friday when a 36-year-old man armed with a kitchen knife burst into the school in Henan province. None of the students were injured seriously and the man was quickly arrested.