BEIJING -- A knife-wielding man slashed 22 children and an adult at an elementary school in central China on Friday, state media reported, the latest in a series of attacks on children in the country.

The man attacked the children at the gate of a school in Chenpeng village in Henan province, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Police arrested a 36-year-old man, identified as villager Min Yingjun, Xinhua said. It did not give further details of the extent of the injuries.

Ax-wielding man kills 3 kids, wounds 13 in China

Series of attacks
There have been a series of attacks on schools and children around China in recent years.

Some were carried out by people who have lost their jobs or felt left out of the country's economic boom.

Read more on China from NBC's Behind the Wall

The rash of violence has prompted public calls for more measures to protect the young in a country where many couples only have one child.

There was a particular string of knife attacks against schoolchildren across the country in early 2010 that killed nearly 20 and wounded more than 50.

In one incident that year, a man slashed 28 children, two teachers and a security guard in a kindergarten in eastern China.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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