A man suspected of having injured 18 people, including 16 children, in Wednesday's school shooting case, has been seized in Beijing, said police authorities in east China's Anhui Province.

Beijing police seized Liu Shibing Thursday afternoon, said a spokesman with the public security bureau in Guangde county.

Liu, 33, fired with six home-made guns at children doing morning exercises at Niutoushan Primary School of Liudong township in Guangde at 8:13 AM Wednesday, injuring 16 pupils. The schoolmaster, named Chen Yubin, was also hurt in the gun fire.

Liu fled the site after knocking down Chen Yongfeng, a villager who tried to stop him from shooting. Chen was installing cable TV transmission lines near the school when the accident occurred.

More than 200 policemen kept searching for the suspect in nearby villages and woods, until the news of his arrest came at 4:00 PM Thursday.

"We can rest assured at last," said a villager who declined to be named. School sources said classes are to resume soon.

By Friday morning, nine of the injured children have been discharged from hospital and the other seven are still being treated at Jiuba Hospital of Huzhou city in the neighboring Zhejiang Province.

Villagers said Liu is single and envies his peers who have children. He was once heard saying, "I have no kids of my own, so I would kill other people's kids."

(Xinhua News Agency October 14, 2005)