Gun rampage shocks shanghai

By Chen Xiaoru in Shanghai Source:Global Times Published: 2013-6-24 0:48:02

Two policemen stop a police car entering the crime scene after a suspect surnamed Fan killed five people in Baoshan district in Shanghai including a security guard. Photo: Cai Xianmin/GT

Two policemen stop a police car entering the crime scene after a suspect surnamed Fan killed five people in Baoshan district in Shanghai including a security guard. Photo: Yang Hui/GT



 

For more, see Daily Speical(s): Six killed in shooting rampage in Shanghai


A 62-year-old man who shot dead five people including a guard at a military camp in the Baoshan district of Shanghai was taken into police custody late Saturday night, according to a statement posted Sunday on the Weibo of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau.

The suspect, surnamed Fan, beat his colleague surnamed Zhang to death with an undisclosed object at a chemical plant on Yueluo Road at around 5 pm on Saturday, and went back to his dormitory to get his hunting rifle, according to the police statement.

Police said one officer was injured during the arrest but the case is still under investigation.

Fan allegedly got in an unregistered private taxi, and shot dead the driver, surnamed Bian, during his escape after the car arrived at Zhoupu town, in the Pudong New Area.

Fan then drove the car back to Baoshan, and shot a guard in front of a camp, and brought the guard's gun with him before he returned to the plant. He killed another three people including his boss, surnamed Li, with his rifle.

The police caught Fan at around 11:15 pm in the plant and confiscated both of the guns.

A Global Times reporter saw the police take the suspect away at around 2 am from the Shanghai Guang Yu Fine Chemical company. There were about 10 police vehicles parked along the street leading to the plant and a funeral vehicle was seen driving in.

An employee surnamed Jin, who refused to reveal his full name, told the Global Times that Fan is a senior director, and had disputes with Li over financial problems.

Jin said that Fan's nephew co-owned the plant with Li's family. Fan was commissioned by the nephew to help run the plant two years ago.

However, the business had problems and the plant was closed in May. Fan and Li had financial disputes over equipment that Li wanted to sell for money, Jin said. He said that Fan once locked Li's daughter, also a representative of the plant, in an office after quarrelling with her.

Jin said that Fan is bad-tempered and strict with workers and claimed he once fired a new employee just because she had problem about the salary she had received after the first month. Jin also said that although Fan was indifferent about workers' problems, he was very serious when it came to running the plant and often stayed overnight at work.

Jin said that no one knew that Fan had a gun, but they all knew that he used to be a soldier.

Xu Tong, a lawyer specializing in gun-related cases from the Yingke Law Firm, told the Global Times that China has strict gun restrictions.

"Individuals holding gun permits were allowed to have hunting rifles before the 90s. However, gun control became strict in late 90s when the public security authorities told gun owners to hand over all their hunting rifles," Xu said.

According to a gun administration law that went into effect in 1996, only hunters and herdsmen in hunting zones or pastoral areas may apply to have hunting rifles.

Xu said that it was possible that Fan did not hand in the rifle in the 90s, and secretly kept it illegally.

Xu said that it is highly likely that Fan will face extreme penalties and immediate execution given the bad influence of the case on society.

Authorities in Jinan, Shandong Province, recently raided an illicit ring selling imitation guns. Police arrested 57 suspects from the ring, and confiscated 2,700 imitation guns, according to the Central People's Radio's report on Sunday.



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