Two wounded, one dead after rare gun rampage in China

Beijing: A government official was suspected to have carried out a rare shooting rampage in China on Wednesday in which two officials were wounded when a gunman burst into a meeting and opened fire, the Xinhua news agency reported.

The shooting happened at an exhibition centre in Panzhihua city in Sichuan province. The gunmen fired multiple shots at city leaders assembled there before fleeing, Xinhua reported.

The shooter was suspected to be the chief of the city`s Land and Resources Bureau, who was found dead after committing suicide on the second floor of the building, it said.
Xinhua did not give any more details about the attack or a motive. Telephone calls to the city government`s information office were not answered. 

The mayor and the head of the city`s municipal committee were wounded but would survive, Xinhua said.

Violent crime is rare in China, compared with many other countries, and gun ownership is strictly controlled, but there has been a series of knife attacks in recent years, including one in November when seven children were wounded.