A four-day manhunt involving thousands of policemen and soldiers came to an end Tuesday when one of China’s most wanted serial killers was gunned down Tuesday morning in the southwestern city of Chongqing.
The news prompted expressions of relief online, but also gave rise to questions about the way authorities handled the case.
- Reuters/China Daily
- Police carry away the body of Zhou Kehua, the fugitive serial killer and armed robber, from the spot he was shot dead, in Chongqing Municipality, August 14, 2012.
Zhou Kehua, described by police as “ruthless and highly dangerous,” was wanted in connection to multiple crimes dating to 2004 involving the deaths of nine people and injuries of another five, according to state media. He was the chief suspect in a fatal armed robbery in Chongqing on Friday and also allegedly shot a police officer who tried to stop and question him over the weekend.
Zhou was killed in a leather factory in Chongqing’s Shapingba district around 6:50am on Tuesday after being spotted by undercover police, the state-run China Daily reported. The two sides exchanged fire, and Zhou was eventually shot dead, the paper said citing the Chongqing Morning News.
A series of graphic images posted widely on state-run media websites and elsewhere (warning: images are disturbing) showed Zhou lying face down next to a brick wall, blood appearing to gush from a wound in his head.
Local media reports speculated on Monday the chances of Zhou surviving his capture were low, saying he was likely to respond to the manhunt with force.
Many users on Sina Corp.’s Weibo microblogging service applauded the efforts of the police.
“If he wasn’t killed, it wouldn’t appease the public anger, Chongqing police did well!” declared one user of Sina Corp.’s Weibo microblogging service.
In a report detailing events leading up to Tuesday morning, China’s state broadcaster said police were aware Zhou had been hiding in the city after spotting him in footage from a store surveillance camera on Saturday. A much-publicized manhunt in the mountains on the outskirts of Chognqing over the past few days was a ruse meant to fool Zhou into thinking he was safe, the report said.
Not everyone lauded the operation. Some social media users, for example, questioned whether police were handling evidence properly after a photo was published showing an unidentified man rifling through Zhou’s belongings without wearing gloves. Others, meanwhile, cast doubt on the police version of events.
“Reports stated he was shot during a firefight with the police, but from the pictures you can’t tell he tried pulling out a gun,” one reader wrote on the Phoenix TV website, noting that photos showed Zhou’s guns laying at a remove from his body.
Still others lamented that he hadn’t be captured instead of killed.
“It would have been more perfect to capture him alive. That way we could have found out how he was able to evade the police for so many years,” wrote another Phoenix reader.
Still, the overwhelming sentiment was one of relief. “A figure like Zhou Kehua causes panic,” wrote one Weibo user posting under the hashtag #ZhouKehuaShotDead#. “Society needs the stability.”
– Sandra Hu. Follow her on Twitter @SandwaHu
看了这么多评论，劳资找不到适合的英文来表达。。。
先对那个说自己亲历生活君说下：WQNMLGB。。。说了一大堆翔一样话，草泥马的，那么危险你丫的不活的好好的，别以为我不知道你丫的是拿钱发帖的臭圈子！
还有些个脑袋灌水的，先批斗你们自家的头头们，到处煽风点火倒腾战争的战争贩子还好意思说别人是刽子手？屁股上插鸡毛掸子，装个毛线的大尾巴狼。。。
Isn’t Chongqing where Bo ‘bury ‘em deep’ Xilai worked? Isn’t that one of the places where Bo Xilai, whose wife Gu Kai Lai also killed people, murdered a bunch of Chinese?
Why do the communist leaders of China kill so many people?
What happened, did they sentence Bo Xilai, or was it Gu Kailai? The new breed of Chinese communist murderers.
“It would have been more perfect to capture him alive. Then we can sell off the parts”
Ok dumb dumbs listen up. China cannot fight and win a war. The problem is that the communists have no legitimacy and there is a ton of dissent. If fighting started you would have tons of Chinese bailing, just like they did 100 years ago. They are not known for valor in battle.
In addition, Tibet and East Turkestan would revolt, which would require China’s attention. You cannot fight battles both inside and outside. Lastly the communists with all their kids at Harvard and Stanford would flee, leaving China in chaos.
The ,ilitary would move in, but so would the UN. China would become the biyach of the west once more.