A five-year-old brought a kitchen knife from home to his kindergarten, with which he threatened to stab and “kill all the girls.”
The incident came to light only after a number of girls told their parents, who expressed outrage that the kindergarten’s administration failed to report the potential threat to their children's safety.
The location of the preschool was not disclosed.
On the day the child arrived at kindergarten with the knife he apparently informed his friends and told one of the girls: "I put a knife in my bag before I got dressed so I could stab you in the throat. I will do a magic trick and kill all the girls."
The terrified girl told one of the staff, who searched the boy's backpack and found the sharp knife.
According to some parents, the child in question has a history of violent incidents.
In one case, the child reportedly tried to strip a girl in the bathroom and in numerous other instances physically attacked other children in his group.
Following the incident, parents of other children at the kindergarten said they had expected the child to undergo psychiatric evaluation and be banned from attending the preschool until the results were delivered.
But, they said, the child was attending kindergarten as usual.
"We are afraid to send our children to kindergarten," said the parents, who demanded that a special assistant be assigned to monitor the child at all times.
The Education Ministry said that it was aware of the case, which was being dealt with by professionals.
"This is a very serious incident that is being handled by a number of professionals," ministry said.
"Due to the privacy of the individual, we are prevented from divulging further details."