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SCMP Reporter

Fourteen people were killed and three were seriously injured when three men went on a killing spree in their home village in Shanxi province at the weekend.

The villagers were killed overnight on Friday, Xinhua reported on its Web site, after the men - armed with hunting rifles, axes and explosives - stormed into Dayoukou village, Jinzhong city, just before midnight. Jinzhong is about 30km southeast of Shanxi's capital, Taiyuan.

The three men were identified as Hu Wenhai, 46, his brother Hu Qinghai, 44, and Liu Haiwang, 40.

Police officer Zhang Shuanzhu was quoted as saying Hu Wenhai, who worked with a surveying team, was allegedly responsible for many of the killings.

According to the officer, Hu Qinghai was arrested about an hour after the murders in Dayoukou and Hu Wenhai was captured later on Saturday in Taiyuan.

Police found about 2kg of explosives when they arrested Hu Wenhai.

They also found what they believed was the main murder weapon, a hunting rifle, and about 200 rounds of ammunition.

But Liu Haiwang remained at large, Mr Zhang said. The Hu brothers were now being questioned by police.

Another police spokesman, Liang Yonggang, identified one of the dead victims as villager Hu Fulong, and one of the injured was named as Hu Gensheng.

It was not clear if they were related to the Hu brothers, who also lived in Dayoukou.

The report said the police had not found a motive for the killings, but said officers from Shanxi Public Security Bureau were now assisting local police in the investigation.

The Xinhua report said Dayoukou is mainly a coal mining village consisting of about 300 families.

The 17 victims belonged to nine families. Two of the 14 dead were cadres of the village government.

Violent crimes have become a common problem both in cities and rural villages.

Although the Government still technically maintains control of every aspect of people's lives, many criminal gangs and triads have come to the fore in recent years.

The problem has worsened as police officers - especially those at grassroots level - are often poorly trained and paid.

The authorities routinely carry out campaigns to try to halt the flow of firearms and weapons on the mainland - but guns and explosives remain readily available in rural townships and villages.

One of the reasons is because farmers are allowed easy access to chemicals in order to make fertiliser cheaply.



Two arrested after men armed with rifles, axes and explosives go on murderous rampage