BEIJING: An on-duty soldier was shot dead and his machine gun stolen in an incident that touched off a terrorism alert yesterday in a major Chinese city.
The 18-year-old soldier was standing guard at a garrison in Chongqing on Thursday night when he was shot by attackers, who then made off with his gun, the official Xinhua News Agency and other state media reported.
The brief reports provided few details, but said the police and the military were jointly investigating.
The Chongqing Daily on its website cited police as saying the attack warranted a counter-terrorism response. Residents said police cordoned off the area, and schools and businesses were instructed to step up security.
The Hong Kong-based Information Centre for Human Rights in China said several thousand soldiers and policemen were hunting for the attackers.
An employee at the Huarui Inn near the garrison said witnesses told him police tactical squads arrived at the scene 15 minutes after the attack.
Chongqing officials either declined to comment or said they were still trying to confirm the incident.
The shooting underscores a rise in violent crimes that has accompanied China's free-market reforms and a loosening of social controls. The government is also grappling with separatist movements in Tibet and Xinjiang.
A sprawling metropolis in central China, Chongqing is a magnet for migrants looking for work. Though private gun ownership is banned, armed criminal gangs have been on the rise.
The Ministry of Public Security has said it is setting up a special unit to deal with gangs. In 2007, it said 178,000 illegal guns and 4.75 million bullets were seized nationwide over a four-month period in 2006.
