Editor's Note

A fugitive gunman who is suspected of killing nine and wounding several others in armed robberies since 2004 was shot dead in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on August 14, local police said.

Latest News

Police deny serial killer still at large
Chongqing police insisted Sunday that cold-blooded serial killer Zhou Kehua was shot dead amid massive public suspicion that he is still at large.

Cornered and killed
Frenzied serial killer Zhou Kehua was shot dead by police in Chongqing August 14 morning after a massive four-day manhunt. While local police celebrate the victory, many questions remain unanswered.

Manhunt launched after armed robbery in Chongqing
Police have launched a manhunt for the serial killer believed to be behind the armed robbery that left one person dead in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality Friday morning.

Deadly robbery
Onlookers surround the crime scene of a robbery in Chongqing on Friday during which one person was killed and two others were injured. Police have launched a manhunt for the 42-year-old serial killer suspect identified as Zhou Kehua, who's also believed to be responsible for a robbery in Nanjing in January. More photos

Wanted Warrant

Zhou Kehua
	Sex: Male Date of birth: February 6, 1970 Nationality: Han Chinese Educational level: middle school Native place: Ertang village, Jingkou county, Shapingba district, Chongqing Municipality National Identification Number: 510212197002066715
	Physical description: 167cm, medium height and spare build, dark skin; long, square face, heavy eyebrows, double eyelid Small moles on his right eyebrow and behind his left ear, birthmark on his right upper lip
	Tip hotline: 110, 63965701, 63965702, 63965703, 63965704. 63965705. 68813333

Photos: Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau
Source: Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau

Responses

Chongqing police:

1.    Chongqing police launched a search Friday for alleged serial killer Zhou Kehua in the city’s surrounding mountains where Zhou is most likely to hide, according to a Dongfang Daily report on Sunday. A second round of searches was also carried out Saturday morning, the report said.

2.    Chongqing police are offering a reward of 500,000 yuan for any information leading to the capture of the suspect, said the city’s public security bureau.

3. Between two and four policemen have been stationed every 50 meters on the road running along Gele Mountain in Chongqing, while all passing vehicles and pedestrians are interrogated, according a Beijing News report on Sunday.

4. Local taxi drivers also received a text message from the public security bureau describing Zhou, the Dongfang Daily reported Sunday.

The Ministry of Public Security:

China’s Ministry of Public Security placed Zhou at the top of their “Most Wanted” list, offering a reward of 100,000 yuan for information leading to his arrest, according to news portal youth.cn on Sunday.

Changsha police in Hunan Province:

Changsha public security bureau in Hunan Province dispatched a team of police to Chongqing Friday afternoon to join search efforts for Zhou, Ou Yike, the bureau deputy director said according to youth.cn on Sunday.

Expert Comment:

Wang Shunan, director of the Institute of Criminology at China University of Political Science and Law, was interviewed by Beijing News on August 11.

“Though the suspect is skillful in eluding police, that does not mean he has no weaknesses. Based on case analysis, the suspect may have suffered some kind of recent setback that forced him to resurface again and commit the robbery, the location of which was also not far from his hometown,” Wang explained.

“We cannot eliminate the possibility that the suspect may have bad habits such as drugs or gambling, all reasons which could have pushed him to need an enormous sum of money within a very shot time,” he added.

Suspected   Serial Killings

Time	Locations	Killings
August 10, 2012	Shapingba district, Chongqing	One killed, two injured outside Bank of China Zhou Kehua allegedly shot and killed a woman outside a Shapingba district Bank of China. Zhou is suspected of using a Type 54 Chinese pistol in killing one and wounding two others.
January 6, 2012	Xiaguan district, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province	A man was robbed and shot outside an Agriculture Bank of China branch in Xiaguan district after he had made a withdrawal. The gunman stole 199,900 yuan in cash and escaped. After conducting an investigation, the Ministry of Public Security have linked the gunman involved in this case with the shootings in Chongqing and Changsha.
June 28, 2011	Tianxin district, Changsha, Hunan Province	A man was beaten and shot after exiting his vehicle near a construction site on Heili road. The victim, 48 year-old auto parts dealer surnamed Zhang, apparently suffered injuries to the waist and head after stepping out of his Lexus, after which he was shot in the head.
October 25, 2010	East Second Ring Road, Changsha, Hunan Province	A business owner was shot and killed outside a building in Yuhua district. The victim was also robbed of his laptop. Details of the case are consistent with the case on Furongnan Road in Changsha.
December 4, 2009	Furongnan Road, Changsha, Hunan Province	Man fatally shot while withdrawing cash   A 41-year-old man surnamed Gao was shot in the head at close range after withdrawing cash from an ATM outside an ICBC on Xinyao Street. The gunman shot the victim while he returned to his car, making of with 45,000 yuan. Mr Guo was dead at the scene.
October 14, 2009	Nanjiao park, Changsha, Hunan Province	Man shot dead in Changsha Park A man surnamed Li was shot in Nanjiao park, Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province. Local police believe their case is linked to the recent Chongqing shooting.
March 19, 2009	Chongqing High-tech zone	Masked man shoots, kills security guard A masked man assaulted and killed a security guard outside a security barracks in Chongqing’s high tech district. The man later allegedly stole a rifle from the barracks. Although Chongqing police set up a special team to crack the case, no information about the suspect surfaced until the was arrested on August 10, 2012 trict of Chongqing happened another shooting case; Zhou Kehua was finally confirmed as the suspect of the case of shooting sentry.
May 16, 2005	Shapingba district, Chongqing	A man and a woman were robbed and shot outside a bank on Hanyu street, Shapingba district. The couple exited the bank, were robbed of a bag containing 170,000 yuan and fatally shot. The gunshots attracted the attention of a man who was passing by, which the gunman also shot and wounded.
April 22, 2004	Jiangbei district, Chongqing	Suspect robs, kills woman at ATM A female hotel employee was robbed and shot dead at an ATM machine outside an Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) located at Wuhuang street, Jiangbei dictrict. The gunman wounded one other person before escaping with 70,000 yuan.

Source: www.ifeng.com

 

Related report:

 

Nationwide hunt underway for killer

Large-scale manhunt is underway for a serial killer in Chongqing, following the latest killing during an armed robbery on Friday which left a woman dead. The military has reportedly been called in to help authorities hunt the 42-year-old suspect, who is believed to have killed nine people across Chongqing, Changsha and Nanjing.