A man killed four children in a knife attack at a kindergarten in the Ugandan capital of Kampala on Thursday, according to police.

Security forces identified the suspect as a 39-year-old man named Okello Christopher Onyum, according to a statement by the Uganda Police Force posted on X Thursday afternoon.

“We confirm a tragic incident at the Ggaba Early Childhood Development Program school in Makindye Division, Kampala City, where a male suspect brutally stabbed and killed four juveniles,” Kampala police spokesperson Rachael Kawala said.

The suspect gained access to the daycare facility by posing as a parent, the Daily Monitor newspaper reported. He first entered the school offices, where he briefly engaged the administrator in charge, then stepped outside, locked the gate and began attacking the children, the report said.

Police said the children killed were aged between two and three.

Angry residents attempted to lynch the suspect as he tried to escape before security forces intervened and arrested him, Kawala said. Police reportedly fired in the air to disperse the crowd.

Videos on social media showed distressed parents outside the nursery school, now cordoned off, anxiously seeking news of their children and demanding their release.

The motive behind the killings remains unclear and investigations are ongoing.

Source: AFP