A student was stabbed to death by his roommate during a quarrel in Nanhang Jincheng College in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, on Tuesday night, the school and police confirmed.

The 22-year-old student surnamed Jiang, who forgot to bring his key, knocked on the door of the dormitory and asked his roommate, surnamed Yuan, to open the door for him, according to the Jiangning district police. But when Yuan opened the door several minutes later the two students had a fierce argument before Yuan grabbed a fruit knife from a bookcase and stabbed Jiang in the chest, police said.

"Yuan didn't open the door in the first place because he was playing an online computer game," said Wang, a 19-year-old student from the college who asked to be identified only by his last name.

Jiang was declared dead at a nearby hospital around 10:30 pm.

The only child of his family, he majored in automation as a junior in the college.

Local police detained Yuan, 24, on Wednesday morning.

According to a statement issued by Jincheng College, the two students got along with each other, and the college is cooperating with local police to further investigate the case.

Xiong Bingqi, deputy director of the 21st Century Education Research Institute in Beijing, said that in recent years more violent crimes had been taking place on Chinese campuses.

"The lack of awareness of the law and a sense of teamwork, as well as various kinds of psychological problems have all contributed to the current situation," Xiong said.

"It's a pity that school violence hasn't received enough attention in China. Instead of seeking solutions, many people just read the news, criticize related crimes and then forget about them," Xiong said.

Contact the writers at cangwei@chinadaily.com.cn and songwenwei@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 04/18/2013 page3)