Jealous man shoots students; injures 16
By Wu Chong (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-10-14 05:51

An unmarried man who envied others who had children shot and injured 16 pupils in a primary school on Wednesday morning in Guangde County, East China's Anhui Province.

Seven seriously-injured students have been moved to a big hospital in Huzhou, a neighbouring city in Zhejiang Province.

The condition of a seven-year-old boy shot in the chest is serious, a hospital empoloyee told China Daily.

The Huzhou No 98 Hospital said that students who were wounded in the limbs were responding to treatment.

Nine of the young victims were treated at a local hospital and discharged.

The school principal and a villager who came to help were also injured in the school gunfire.

Police are hunting for the suspect, 33-year-old Liu Shibing from the village where the school is located.

Witnesses said Liu broke into Niutoushan Primary School which has about 100 students with six home-made rifles at about 8:15 am, and randomly opened fire at the children who were doing morning exercises.

He escaped after knocking down Chen Yongfeng, who was installing television cables nearby.

At the sound of the first shot, Chen said he thought it was an explosion in the quarry on a nearby mountain.

But following a second bang, he saw a man rushing to the school gate and then back to the school courtyard, which was followed by a third gunshot.

Chen, whose wife is a teacher in the school, hurried to the gate and tried to pick up three guns lying there when Liu threw himself at him, attacked him with a gunstock and fled after a fierce fight.

Villagers described Liu as mentally unsound, and said he was jealous of his peers with children and once threatened to kill other people's kids.

Investigations revealed that the powder Liu used in the shooting was used to make firecrackers.

(China Daily 10/14/2005 page1)