Xinhua News Agency said Su Qianxiao, 42, has been arrested after he broke into the Chiling Primary School in Guangdong province's Longtang township Wednesday morning and attacked the children with a kitchen knife.

Huang Tianhao, 9, was killed, and two 7-year-old girls and a 9-year-old boy were seriously wounded, Xinhua said.

It said they were the only students at the school when the attack happened at 5:30 a.m. The first class usually begins at 7 a.m.

Xinhua said Su, a villager from the area, had been seen quarreling with Huang's parents in the past.

The agency said police were investigating, but it gave no other details.