Twenty-two school children and a villager were injured in a knife attack at the gate of a primary school in central China's Henan Province on Friday morning, according to local authorities.

All the injured people have been sent to three local hospitals and at least two of them, one student and an 85-year-old woman, are in serious conditions, said police.

The attack happened at around 7:40 a.m. at the entrance of Chenpeng Village Primary School in Wenshu Township of Guangshan County in the city of Xinyang, a police officer said on condition of anonymity.

Local police said they had seized a suspect, a 36-year-old villager named Min Yingjun.

At around 7 a.m. on Friday, Min burst into the 85-year-old woman's house, which neighbors the school, and an argument ensued, according to the woman's daughter.

Liu is thought to have seized a knife at the house and attacked the elderly woman. He then left, rushed into the school campus and slashed students, according to villagers.

The suspect was unknown in the village and might be mentally ill, some villagers said.

The elderly woman and most of the injured students suffered head wounds. And some of them were in shock, according to the People's Hospital of the county, which received most of the people injured in the attack.

"I want to go home!" cried a 7-year-old pupil surnamed Wei, who arrived at the hospital in a serious condition with a skull fracture.

The boy's coat was stained with blood and he was quite scared after being wounded, according to the boy's relatives.

The case is under investigation.