NANJING, Nov. 3 -- One child died and another was injured after being stabbed by a man in east China's Jiangsu Province on Monday, making it at least the third such case reported in China in the past two months.

A knife-wielding man attacked two children, a boy and a girl between the ages of three and four, in Langgudun Village of Xuzhou City at around 2:40 p.m. The girl died in the hospital, local authorities said.

The suspect has been detained by police. A preliminary investigation showed that he has a history of mental illness. Further investigation is under way.

A string of child stabbing cases has sounded alarms in the country.

A student was stabbed to death and another two sustained serious injuries last Friday in Jiangxi Province as they walked home from school. The suspect fled to a nearby mountain and has yet to be found.

Another man killed four students in a knife attack on their way to school on Sept. 26 in China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and then fled. The suspect's body was found in the mountains in early October.