Eighteen people, including 16 children, were injured in a shooting on Wednesday morning at a primary school in Guangde County of east China's Anhui Province, local government sources confirmed today.

Eleven people with minor injuries have been discharged from hospital and seven others who were seriously injured are being treated in Jiuba Hospital of Huzhou City in neighboring Zhejiang Province, local hospital sources said.

Police are looking for Liu Shibing, who fired at the pupils and escaped afterwards.

Liu, 33, fired homemade guns at children doing morning exercises at the Niutoushan Primary School of Liudong Township at 8:13 AM yesterday. The school principal, Chen Yubin, was one of those injured.

Liu escaped after knocking down Chen Yongfeng, a villager who was installing cable TV transmission lines near the school when the shooting took place and who tried to stop him.

Chen Yongfeng said that when he heard the first shot, he thought it was an explosion in a nearby quarry. On hearing the second, he saw a man rushing to the school gate and quickly returning to the school courtyard before the third shot came.

Chen Yongfeng rushed to the school gate and found three guns on the ground. Liu returned and attacked him, hitting his head with a gunstock before running away with the weapons.

According to initial investigations, Liu, who reportedly has mental health problems, brought six homemade guns to the school. He used powder normally used to make firecrackers to fire them.

Villagers said that Liu envies his peers who have children, and that he once said, "I have no children and I would kill other people's."

More than 200 police officers have been dispatched to find him, according to local officials.

(Xinhua News Agency October 13, 2005)