Six people were stabbed to death and others were wounded in a knife attack in a rural district of Beijing on Thursday, according to the Beijing Public Security Bureau.

Police responding to a report of the attack shortly before 1 pm in Wanghua, a village in northeast Beijing's Huairou district, took a man into custody, the department said on its micro blog.

Villagers said that at least 10 people were injured in the attack. Police did not confirm the number, but said that wounded villagers had been taken to a hospital.