City official shoots two then kills self

An official in Panzhihua, Sichuan province, killed himself on Wednesday morning after shooting two of the city’s top officials, local authorities said.

Chen Zhongshu, the city’s land and resources chief, broke into a meeting room at the local conference and exhibition center at about 10:50 am. He shot Zhang Yan, the city’s Party chief, and mayor Li Jianqin as they were having a meeting.

Chen escaped after the shooting and was found to have committed suicide on the second basement of the center. The duo were taken to hospital where they were found to have no life-threatening injuries, Panzhihua’s publicity department said.

Police are still investigating the case.

China has strict gun control measures and there is no explanation of how Chen obtained the gun.

Chen had worked in Panzhihua for more than 30 years after graduating from a college in his hometown of Zigong, Sichuan. He became an official in the cultural and education department of the city’s Yanbian county in 1988 after working as a teacher in a middle school there for five years. He held various positions in the city, including director of city administration and director of a countylevel district, before he was transferred to the land and resources department in May 2013.

Zhang came to Panzhihua in 2006 as deputy Party chief and was promoted to his current post in June 2015.

Li worked in the Ministry of Land and Resources for eight years before he was appointed Panzhihua’s deputy Party chief in July. He has been mayor since August.