Six sacked for mishandling Henan school attack

Six people, mainly school principals and officials, have been sacked over their "improper handling" of a knifeman's attack on a school in central China's Henan Province last week.

A publicity official of Xinyang city confirmed on Tuesday that two school principals, two police officers, a township safety official and a county education department director have been removed from their posts during the investigation of the incident.

He did not give specific reasons for their sackings.

Twenty-three elementary school students and an elderly woman were injured when a knife-wielding man went on a rampage in Guangshan County of Xinyang on Friday.

The Guangshan County People's Procuratorate on Monday ratified the arrest of the suspect Min Yongjun, who was caught by teachers and police at the crime scene on Friday, on a charge of jeopardizing public security.

The six sackings came after condemnation erupted in the media and on the Internet over the local authority's perceived irresponsible and indifferent attitude toward the tragedy.

The county government had declined media interviews and obstructed reporters from interviewing at the school and hospitals treating the injured.