Firefi ghters remove bloodstains after a man killed two women and attacked passers-by in Shanghai's Fengxian district on Wednesday. XU CHENG / FOR CHINA DAILY

On Thursday, parents escorted their children to the school, which is securely guarded by police officers. Many parents said they would feel relieved only after seeing their children enter the classrooms.

Hong Yulong, the school's principal, said the five boys and a girl injured in the violence are second- and fourth-graders at the school. The school invited psychological counselors on Thursday to talk with teachers and students.

The attack took place in the township's busiest section at about 4 pm when the street, was full of people.

Witnesses said the crowd subdued the attacker only after realizing he was injuring people.

"People didn't realize what was going on at first," said Wang Tongyong, a locksmith who has a stall nearby. "We thought it was a traffic accident."

Once the crowd understood what was happening, people grabbed whatever they could find on the ground to fight off the attacker, he added.

One of the first people in the crowd to restrain the assailant was Xia Yongxin, 40, who was going to school to pick up his child.

There was a lot of blood on the ground and some yelled that people were slashed, making him realize what was happening, said Xia, who was injured in the fight with the suspect and hospitalized on Thursday.

"He (the suspect) was holding a knife in his right hand, and attacked whoever he encountered," Xia said.

His face covered by blood, the suspect muttered "Chop you to death!" as he continued attacking, Xia recalled.

To stop the suspect, Xia fought him at first with a mop picked up from a nearby shop, later switching to a shovel.

The shovel was broken in the fight, and Xia was slashed several times before the crowd rushed up to subdue the suspect, Xia said.

"Many came up to help restrain the suspect. I would have been dead if they hadn't helped," Xia said.

Before police arrived and arrested Zang, some of the children and their parents fled to the school to escape.

"When I arrived at the school, children were hiding everywhere. They were terrified," said the father of a first-grader who gave his name as Li. "You dared not look into their eyes. You'd be shocked by the fear that was in those children's eyes."

He said that the school's two security guards failed to protect the youngsters.

"One stood close to my wife, but he didn't make a move," he added.

But school principal Hong said the guards closed the gate in a bid to keep the suspect out of the school.

wangzhenghua@chinadaily.com.cn