Slasher Injures 7 at School

A man wielding a machete wounded three children and four adults at a primary school in this central English city, police said Monday.

Police immediately threw a security cordon around a nearby apartment building where the assailant was believed to have taken refuge, witnesses said.

The injured children--two 4-year-old girls and a 3-year-old boy--were taking part in a picnic in the school playground when a man jumped over a fence and attacked them. They suffered disfiguring head wounds and were expected to undergo surgery, their doctor said.

The attack came four months after gunman Thomas Hamilton burst into a primary school in Dunblane, Scotland, slaying 16 children and their teacher before killing himself.

Police said there appeared to have been a dispute between a man and a woman outside the school playground. After attacking the woman, the man then jumped over the fence and ran into the playground.