A knife-wielding man killed three persons and injured 15 in an attack at a supermarket in China's biggest city Shanghai, police said on Tuesday, in the latest incident of mass stabbing in the country.

The incident occurred on Monday in Shanghai on the eve of China’s 75th National Day, which is being celebrated on Tuesday.

The police received a report of the incident at 9.47 pm (local time) on Monday and quickly arrived at the scene, state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday quoting a police statement.

The attacker, a 37-year-old man surnamed Lin went on a stabbing spree before he was apprehended on the spot after the police arrived.

Social media here carried the photos of the man armed with a knife going around in the supermarket.

Eighteen victims were immediately sent to a hospital for treatment, the Xinhua report said.

Among them, three died despite rescue efforts and the others did not sustain life-threatening wounds. An investigation is underway.

According to a statement by Shanghai police, Lin was motivated by personal financial disputes and had travelled to Shanghai to “vent his anger”.

Lin's place of origin has not been disclosed by the police.

China, where private gun ownership is illegal for most civilians, faced a spate of mass knife attacks in public places in recent years allegedly by disgruntled or mentally deranged people.

Last night's attack took place as China geared up to celebrate the 75th National Day on Tuesday with a weeklong holiday.

In May, two persons were killed and 21 injured in a knife attack at a hospital in China's Yunnan Province.

In August last year, two persons were killed and seven injured after a man with a history of mental illness attacked people with a knife in a residential district in Yunnan.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.