A middle-school student in Gaoxian county, Sichuan province, was fatally stabbed and three others were injured in fights on campus, Western China Metropolis Daily reported.

Eating bread in front of a classmate's desk last week, a student surnamed Rao dropped some breadcrumbs onto the desk. A brawl ensued with the desk's occupant, surnamed Yan, but the fight was broken up.

The next day, the two traded words on QQ, a popular instant messaging tool in China, and quarreled again. They agreed to arrange a fight at school to settle the matter.

On Saturday morning, the two, each with two other classmates in tow, confronted one another.

One of the invited students, surnamed Li, was struck on the head by a stick and responded by plunging a dagger into Yan's chest. Yan died in a hospital early Tuesday.