Gunman kills 3 judges

Source:Global Times Published: 2010-6-2 3:17:19


Photo taken on June 1, 2010 shows the Lingling District People's Court in Yongzhou City, central China's Hunan Province. A man killed himself after shooting three judges dead and injuring another three judges in the court Tuesday, said local authorities. The gunman Zhu Jun was head of the security squad of the China Post branch bureau of Lingling District. Photo:Xinhua

By Song Shengxia

A gunman shot and killed three judges Tuesday and injured another three before killing himself at a courthouse in central Hunan Province, police said.

The shooting was a rare instance of firearm deaths in the country.

The 46-year-old local man, Zhu Jun, who worked as the head of security at a post office, broke into an office on the fourth floor of the courthouse and launched his attack at about 9:50 am at Lingling District People's Court in Yongzhou city, using a submachine gun and two more pistols that he borrowed from his coworker, the Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday.

The shooting was reportedly motivated by revenge after a court settlement from his divorce didn't go favorably, Xinhua said.

An official with the Lingling District publicity department, who would give only his surname, Lü, told the Global Times by phone that a police investigation was underway into the shooting.

Local media said a man wearing a cap and a black backpack entered the Lingling court building.

The shooter used the submachine gun to shoot two court officials: Chief Judge Zhao Huning and Deputy Chief Judge Jiang Qidong. He then used a pistol to kill Deputy Chief Judge Tan Bin, according to the website of Hunan Daily.

A doctor at the People's Hospital of Lingling, who declined to be named, told the Global Times that one of the injured was admitted to the ICU ward with a chest wound. He refused to disclose the identities of the injured.

A preliminary police investigation indicated that the suspect, Zhu, had been motivated by retaliation, Xinhua said.

Zhu divorced his wife three years ago.

He requested that a court divide their property, but he later claimed that he received an unfair property settlement from the court, according to police who spoke with Zhu's family and colleagues.

However, police said the judges killed Tuesday were not those involved in his divorce case.

 

Zhu was said to be on a two-month leave at home. He resumed work three days before the attack.

It was unknown how he managed to enter the courthouse, which is usually heavily guarded.

Shootings are rare in China, where guns are strictly controlled and private ownership is illegal.

According to the China News Service, Zhu got the firearms from a fellow security guard by saying he would take the guns to the city for examination.

A source with the

 Central Military Court in Beijing told the Global Times that guns for civilian use are strictly controlled in China, citing the Regulations Governing the Use of Firearm for Professional Defend and Escort Personnel.

Those who are lawfully allowed to use guns in their official duties include members of the military, as well as guards of finances, State warehouses, large water conservatories, power plants and communications facilities, according to the regulations.

"In this case, the suspect's employer should also held accountable for illegal use of guns," the military court source said.

Zhou Xiaozheng, a sociology professor at Renmin University of China in Beijing, blamed an unfair distribution of wealth, as well as injustice in the country's legal system, for a rising number of deadly attacks.

"Injustice in our legal system has become a source of tension. Other than that, there should be more psychological counseling to the general public in order to prevent similar deadly incidents from happening again," he said.

China has seen a string of knife attacks in schools and kindergartens since late March that have left at least 17 people dead and dozens injured.

On Sunday, Xu Yuyuan, 47, was executed for stabbing 29 children and three teachers in eastern China's Jiangsu Province. Xu admitted his motive was to vent rage against society after gambling away his money while suffering other setbacks in his personal life.

Apart from the school attacks, a number of other killings have been reported across the country in recent years.

In 2008, Yang Jia stormed into a police office building in Shanghai, killing six police officers and injured four others.

Yu Guoming, a professor of media studies at Renmin University, said Tuesday that despite the extensive coverage of such attacks increasing the likelihood of copycat incidents, people have the right to know what's going on, and the media should report it.

But the professor said the media must still be careful in reporting such incidents and avoid elaborating on the techniques used by offenders to commit crimes.

An Baijie, Guo Qiang and Fu Wen contributed to this story



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