5 killed, including 2 policemen, in China shootout

At least five persons, including two policemen, were killed and an equal number injured today when a man went on a shooting spree in a village in China's Hebei Province, a rare incident of gun crime in the country.
Armed with a double-barrel hunting rifle, the man, identified as 40-year-old Liu Shuangrui, from Xishibao Village of Suning county, shot dead two neighbours and injured three others, the provincial public security department said.
During the manhunt, two police officers were also shot by the suspect and died in hospital, while another two policemen were wounded, police said.
Liu, who was trapped in his house, was found dead when police entered the building. The exact cause of his death is not known, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The injured have been sent to hospitals.
Shootout incidents are rare in China, where private ownership of firearms is illegal.