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12-08-2012 06:31 AM | Chongqing Municipality | iFeng News

A WOMAN was shot dead and her companion and a guard were wounded when a robber
opened fire outside a bank in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality yesterday.

Police named the suspect as 42-year-old Zhou Kehua, a Chongqing local suspected of having
committed several murders and robberies in Jiangsu and Hunan provinces and Chongqing since
2004.

Zhou's mugshot and criminal history are similar to a gunman who earlier this year killed a bank
customer in Nanjing, capital city of Jiangsu.

According to the People's Daily, insiders with the Jiangsu public security bureau said it was the
same man but that hasn't yet been confirmed by Chongqing police, who are offering a 500,000
yuan (US$78,650) reward for information leading to the killer's arrest.

The Ministry of Public Security also offered a 100,000 yuan reward for tip-offs.



Zhou, a native of Ertang Village in Chongqing, is about 1.67 meters tall and of medium
build. He has dark skin, double eyelids and long and broad face, with black moles on his right
eyebrow and left ear. He speaks Mandarin with a Chongqing accent.

Police said he grabbed the woman's bag and shot her outside a Bank of China branch in
Shapingba District at around 9:34am yesterday.

Zhou also opened fire on the woman's companion and a bank security guard when they tried
to chase him as he jumped on a motorcycle to escape. The identities of the three victims
haven't been disclosed.

Online pictures showed a woman and a man lying on the ground near a car, with trails of blood
on the ground and the security guard shot in the arm.

Checkpoints have been set up on main roads and an intensive search for the suspect is under
way.

Taxi drivers were sent short messages listing a description of the killer saying he was wearing
a pinstriped shirt, black pants and black shoes and was carrying a white knitted bag.

Police said that Zhou had killed several people during armed robberies in Jiangsu and Hunan
provinces and Chongqing since 2004. They didn't say how they were able to identify him.

The Nanjing robber was dubbed one of the most dangerous men in China for shooting dead
a total of six people in armed robberies in different cities over the past eight years.

His killing spree began in 2004 when, on April 22, he shot one person dead and injured
another during a bank robbery in Chongqing and escaped with 70,000 yuan.