A police officer points to blood stains after the incident. [Photo/ sd.dzwww.com]

QINGDAO -- Police in East China's Shandong province shot dead a man who they say stole a truck and took the two children on board hostage after he stabbed the vehicle's driver.

Police in the city of Laixi received a report at 12:13 am Wednesday that a truck had been held up on a local highway by a knife-wielding man. After stabbing the driver, the attacker drove it away from the scene, with its 4- and 6-year-old passengers still in their seats, according to the public security bureau of Qingdao city.

When police tracked down the suspect, surnamed Yan, in Pingdu city at around 5 am, they shot him as he threatened to stab the children, they said.

The children were rescued unharmed.

Yan, 33, has a long criminal record, including cases of assault and disturbing the peace.

China has seen a number of attacks against children in recent years, including incidents in 2010 that left 17 people dead -- 15 of them children -- and wounded more than 80.

In March last year, a man killed two of his relatives and then injured 11 people, including six children, with a knife outside a school in Shanghai.

On June 10, a suspect was shot dead after attempting to take control of a primary school in Central China's Hubei province.