A teacher has fatally stabbed an eight-year-old girl at an elementary school in South Korea, in an incident that has shocked the nation, BBC reported.
The female teacher, who is in her 40s, confessed to stabbing the student in the central city of Daejeon.
According to the police, the girl was found with stab wounds on the second floor of a school building at 18:00 local time (09:00 GMT) Monday and was pronounced dead at the hospital. The teacher was found beside her with stab wounds that police said might be self-inflicted.
South Korea's acting president Choi Sang-mok on Tuesday ordered an investigation into the case and urged authorities to "implement necessary measures to ensure such incidents never happen again".
Some locals laid flowers and a stuffed doll at the gate of the school, which was closed on Tuesday.
Yook Jong-myung, the head of the Dajeon Western Police Station said the teacher was currently recovering in hospital, adding that she had a wound on her neck that had been stitched.
The Daejeon education office earlier said the teacher had requested a six-month leave of absence citing depression on December 9, but had returned to school just 20 days later after a doctor assessed her as being fit to work.
During her time off work, she had suicidal thoughts, said Yook, citing a testimony that the teacher had provided to police.
Days before the stabbing, the teacher had displayed violent behaviour, including putting another teacher in a headlock, said the education office.
bd-pratidin/GR
