China: Zero Attacks on Schools and Other Educational Institutions in 2026. Coincidence or an Effective Outcome?

When discussing the safety situation at educational and childcare facilities in China, it is important to understand that the nature and characteristics of such crimes there differ significantly from global averages.

Over the entire observation period (from 2000 through 2025), according to media reports and other open sources, 57 particularly serious crimes were recorded in schools and other educational institutions in China, resulting in 774 victims, of whom 174 died and 600 sustained injuries of varying severity.

Let’s take a closer look at crimes with characteristics of mass killings: there were 53 such cases, accounting for 93% of the total. This is a very high rate - by comparison, the global average is half that (46.7%). The highest proportion of attacks occurred at elementary schools and preschools - 79.2% (the global average is 27.4%).

By method of commission and characteristics of crimes:

The vast majority of attacks are external, accounting for 86.7% (the global average is 56.1%). China has the lowest rate of crimes committed with firearms - only 3.7% (the global average is 53.8%) - and the highest rate of crimes committed with bladed weapons - 79.2% (the global average is 41.7%). The proportion of crimes involving vehicles as weapons is significantly higher - 7.5% (the global average is 2.2%). There are no cases of group attacks or crimes classified as terrorist acts. The remaining indicators in this section do not differ significantly from the global averages.

Perpetrators:

The main age group consists of offenders aged 30 to 45, who account for 46.8% (the global average for this age group is 17.6%). The proportion of women among offenders is significantly higher, at 11.3% (the global average is 6.9%). The following indicators are below the global average among offenders: suicides - 7.5% (24.7%); those who fled the scene of the crime - 16.9% (23%); and those who made public statements - 1.8% (16.6%).

Why did I choose China as the topic of this article?

While studying the statistics, I noticed the following fact: previously, in China, the rate of particularly serious crimes committed in educational and childcare facilities was high, accounting for an average of 21 - 23% of incidents worldwide.

Here are the statistics:

2000 – 2004 - share of the global total: 30%;

2005 – 2009 - share of the global total: 14.2%;

2010 – 2014 - share of the global total: 24.2%.

However, since 2015, there has been a steady downward trend in this figure:

2015 - 2019 - share of the global total: 10.3%;

2020 - 2024 - share of the global total: 8.1%;

in 2025 - share of the global total: 8.3%.

Based on an analysis of information from the media and other public sources, no mass murders, terrorist attacks, or other particularly serious crimes were committed in schools or other educational institutions in China during the first 10 months of 2026. This is particularly notable given the sharp increase in the number of such crimes worldwide this year. By comparison, during the first 10 months of 2026, the total number of such crimes was 115 - a 14.5% increase compared to the entire year of 2025; of these, 78 crimes involved mass murders and terrorist attacks, representing a 31.2% increase compared to the entire year of 2025. These incidents occurred in 33 countries and spanned 5 of the 6 continents.

China did not appear on any of the lists.

I suppose many will argue that this is due solely to China’s information restrictions and that the Chinese media simply do not report on such crimes. I agree that there are indeed certain restrictions in China’s information policy, but not on such a large scale - and now there are even fewer than there used to be. Yes, they often report on such crimes in a very concise manner - briefly and without details—but they do publish them nonetheless. Even in the past, if local Chinese media did not publish information about incidents, it would appear in foreign publications. Now, in the age of advanced information technology, in an open country visited by tens of millions of foreign tourists and home to a vast number of foreign specialists and journalists, it is simply impossible to conceal such high-profile crimes. Therefore, while this theory has some merit, in my opinion, it is extremely unlikely.

Ten years of police service and nearly a quarter-century of studying applied criminology give me every reason to believe that this is by no means a coincidence or a chance occurrence. Especially when the overall global trend is extremely negative.

Personally, I am more inclined to believe that law enforcement agencies in the People’s Republic of China have succeeded in developing and implementing effective tools for the prevention, early detection, and suppression of such crimes. And the statistics clearly confirm that these tools work. However, I do not know exactly what was used or how it was used to achieve these results: this information is not available in open sources.

I am confident that the best practices of China’s law enforcement agencies in ensuring the security of educational facilities would be in high demand and useful throughout the world. Of course, I fully understand that this information may be classified (in whole or in part), and I respect every state’s right to protect its information. At the same time, I am confident that a portion of the data can be identified from the total volume, the use and disclosure of which (in articles, projects, research, and other public publications) would cause no harm but would be very useful to specialists from other countries. This is especially true now, when the security situation at educational and childcare facilities around the world has become significantly more complicated.

I tried to make a similar request to my colleagues in law enforcement and academic institutions in China. Unfortunately, none of my numerous letters and requests received even a formal response.

In light of this, I would like to ask the readers of this blog for help. If you have the opportunity, I ask that you assist me in establishing direct professional contacts with representatives of law enforcement agencies or researchers in the People’s Republic of China who are working in this field. Also, if any colleagues from China are reading this, please contact me by any means convenient for you - all my contact information is listed in my byline.

My interest in this information is open and strictly professional in nature. I would like to reiterate that I respect every country’s right to protect its information; therefore, I would be grateful for access only to information whose use and disclosure would not harm your country’s interests.

 

Author: Roman Grishin

author's page on the portal

#2026 #analysis #article #Asia #attack #China #criminology #educational# educationalsafety #educationalsecurity #international #mass #murder #prevention #public #research #safety #school #SchoolSafety #SchoolSecurity #security #statistics #threat