Five injured people, including three children, were hospitalized in a knife attack on a prestigious primary school in Beijing, the capital of China.

It was understood that the knife attack took place outside the school gate, and 5 people were taken to hospital after passersby tried to intervene.

Three children were taken to hospital, but none of the injuries were life-threatening.

The attack occurred in the afternoon in Haidian district, northwest of Beijing, and a 50-year-old man was arrested at the scene.

The man surnamed Tang is currently under police investigation.

In the images circulating on social media, two school-age children can be seen lying on the ground.

Footage from the scene also shows a man lying on the ground with his face covered in blood.

There have been several stabbing attacks in China this year, many involving school-aged children.

Last month, a 10-year-old Japanese student died after being attacked with a knife near his school in the southern city of Shenzhen.

In June, a woman and her child were injured in another attack on the school bus stop of a Japanese school in Suzhou.

A Chinese woman who tried to intervene was killed.

In early October, three people died and 15 people were injured in a stabbing attack at a supermarket in Shanghai.

China tightly restricts private gun ownership, making knives and homemade explosives among the most common weapons.

Investigations into the latest attack continue.