BEIJING - A man, who claimed himself to be mentally ill, was captured after stabbing two pedestrians, including a foreign national, to death on Wednesday afternoon in Beijing, said police.

The 27-year-old man stabbed the two pedestrians on Qingnian Road, Chaoyang District, said Beijing police, who received a report about the incident at about 5 p.m..

Police immediately rushed to the scene, to find the two people already dead. The suspect was captured at the scene.

The man said he was surnamed Xiao and a native of Yishui County, eastern Shandong Province, police said after questioning him. He claimed he was mentally ill.

Beijing police are trying to confirm the suspect's mental problem with police authorities of his hometown.

Police did not reveal the nationality of the dead foreigner, saying they said they are contacting the relatives of the dead.