The death of a 10-year-old Japanese boy stabbed on his way to school in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen has sparked public grief and condemnation, while police have detained a 44-year-old male suspect who was caught at the attack scene.

On Thursday evening, some residents laid flowers near the Japanese school where the boy was enrolled, expressing both anger and sorrow over the attack, according to local media reports. One message on a bouquet read: "The boy lived and studied here. He was a child of Shenzhen, regardless of his nationality."

According to local media reports, the boy, a Japanese national born to a Japanese father and a Chinese mother, was stabbed by the suspect, who was only identified by his surname Zhong, at 7:55 a.m. on Wednesday. The boy was rushed to a hospital and succumbed to injuries early on Thursday.

"Our medical staff immediately took several emergency measures. We restored his heartbeat and put him in surgery," Ma Xiaopeng, head of the doctors' team and president of Shenzhen Children's Hospital, was quoted as saying. "A team of specialists made every possible effort to save him, but unfortunately, due to the severity of injuries, the boy was pronounced dead at 1:36 a.m. on Thursday."

Local police said that the investigation into the case is still ongoing, and initial findings showed it was an "isolated incident."

In response to the stabbing, local public security and education authorities in Shenzhen have heightened security measures around schools and other public venues.

The city has pledged to take further steps to safeguard the lives, property and legal rights of everyone there, including foreign nationals.

The education department in Nanshan District, where the school is located, has also established a psychological counseling team for students of the school, which serves Japanese nationals living in Shenzhen and its surrounding areas.

"We regret and are saddened by this tragic incident. We mourn for the passing of the boy and our hearts go out to his family," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Thursday.

"The Chinese government never allows any illegal or violent activities and will conduct an investigation into the case and bring the criminal to justice in accordance with law," Lin said. "We believe individual cases will not affect exchanges and cooperation between China and Japan."

(Cover: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian at a regular press briefing in Beijing, China, September 19, 2024. /Chinese Foreign Ministry)