Teacher arrested after fatally stabbing eight-year-old pupil

Terrible news.

A teacher has been arrested after fatally stabbing an eight-year-old pupil in a primary school in South Korea.

The incident which took place in the central city of Daejeon has shocked the nation.

The female teacher in her 40s has confessed to the stabbing, say police.

The girl was found on the second floor of the school building with stab wounds at 18:00 (09:00 GMT) on Monday (10 February) and was sadly later pronounced dead at the hospital.

The teacher was beside the pupil with stab wounds also.

Acting president of South Korea, Choi Sang-mok ordered an investigation into the incident on Tuesday, urging authorities to "implement necessary measures to ensure such incidents never happen again".

Locals laid flowers and stuffed dolls at the gates of the closed school.

The Daejeon education office said that the teacher had requested a six-month leave citing depression in December, however returned to work after just 20 days after being cleared by a doctor.

The teacher had no relationship with the student as per authorities, however, had displayed violent behaviour in the run up to the incindent.

She had previously put another teacher in a headlock.

Officials from the education office visited the school the morning of the day of the stabbing to investigate the previous altercation.