Screenshot from video clips circulating online

Four students were injured on Monday morning by a man wielding a knife near a secondary school in Zhangjiajie, Central China's Hunan Province. Video clips circulating online showed the man kept a girl hostage with the weapon held close to her throat before he was controlled.

The injured students have since been sent to hospital for treatment. No deaths have been reported as of press time.

The man, surnamed Qiu, was brought under control on the spot and an investigation into the matter is underway. The local procuratorial organs have already become involved in the investigation in advance, the People's Procuratorate of Zhangjiajie City announced on social media soon after the incident.

The incident occurred only 60 meters away from the school, which had only just begun its new semester last week, reports said.