An axe-wielding man attacked children and adults on a city street in central China Wednesday, killing six people.

Authorities in Gongyi city in Henan province say a child and three adults were killed in the initial attack, while another child and adult died later in a hospital. Media reports said the adults were taking their children to class at a kindergarten when the man struck.

The suspected attacker has been a identified as a local farmer named Wang Hongbin, who has a history of mental illness.

China has been plagued by a wave of bloody attacks on children in recent months. Eight children were wounded last month when a female employee at a daycare center for migrant workers slashed at the children with a knife.