Mountains combed in search for serial killer
By Zha Minjie |
August 13, 2012, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
The hunt for a serial killer is continuing in central China's Chongqing City with police and military forces searching mountains in the area for any trace of the fugitive.
Zhou Kehua, named as the man who shot dead one woman and wounded two others in an armed robbery in Chongqing last Friday, was believed to have fled to the city's mountain area.
Zhou also killed a railway police officer during his escape.
Police have confirmed the 42-year-old is the man suspected of killing nine people and stealing more than 700,000 yuan (US$110,000) over the past eight years in Chongqing, Nanjing in eastern Jiangsu Province and Changsha in central Hunan Province.
The suspect has been known to target people withdrawing money from banks and has become an expert at dodging police manhunts, police said.
Zhou is deemed a "Class A" wanted suspect by the Ministry of Public Security. The bounty placed on his head currently stands at 5.4 million yuan, Xinhua news agency reported.
On Saturday, police found a cave in which Zhou was believed to have stayed in on Gele Mountain, according to yesterday's Oriental Morning Post.
"Police collected a shabby deep-green T-shirt, two cigarette packets and excrement inside the cave which was covered with spiders' webs and weeds," the newspaper reported.
More than 1,000 police and military personnel have been involved in the hunt.
People living locally have been warned not to go into the mountains while the search continues and checkpoints have been set up on roads in the area.
Wanted posters with Zhou's picture have been distributed throughout the region.
Zhou was said to have stolen 250,000 yuan during last Friday's robbery outside an outlet of Bank of China in Chongqing. Zhou allegedly grabbed one of the victim's bags and fled. Investigators said the weapon used was an illegally manufactured pistol.
Police said Zhou meticulously planned his move and was "incredibly calm."
Zhou took a motorcycle taxi during his escape and was dropped off at a gas station. Zhou spoke just three sentences during the journey, according to Oriental Morning Post.
Before Zhou disappeared into the mountain forest, he ran along a railway track, attracting the attention of railway police officer Zhu Yanchao, yesterday's Chongqing Morning Post reported. Zhu, 29, was investigating another case at the time and was unarmed.
The officer asked Zhou to stop and showed him his police badge but Zhou shot him in the head and stomach and ran off, only about 10 minutes after the bank killing.
Zhou is said to have been an introverted boy from a poor family in Chongqing's remote Ertang Village.
Zhou, described as a lover of detective stories, did not play with other children in the village in his youth. "He just read detective novels alone and did not hang out with others," said a villager surnamed Qin.
At 15, he was detained for two weeks for harassing women. After that, he worked in other cities for about 25 years, including five years as a railway porter. From 2000 to 2004, he lived in southwestern border regions.
Zhou is said to have been jailed briefly in southwestern Yunnan Province, which borders Myanmar, in 2005 for trafficking firearms.
He is divorced and has one son.
In the eyes of the villagers, Zhou was still a "family man."
He is said to have returned to his hometown after his father died in August last year.
"He sent his father's body to the funeral parlor at night and disappeared the next day," said a villager.
Police have been keeping a close watch on Zhou's mother's house in the village since early this year.
She said her son visited in January, the same month he is said to have killed a bank customer and stolen nearly 200,000 yuan in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Province.
His killing spree began in 2004 when he shot one woman dead and injured another during a bank robbery in Chongqing and escaped with 70,000 yuan.
Zhou Kehua, named as the man who shot dead one woman and wounded two others in an armed robbery in Chongqing last Friday, was believed to have fled to the city's mountain area.
Zhou also killed a railway police officer during his escape.
Police have confirmed the 42-year-old is the man suspected of killing nine people and stealing more than 700,000 yuan (US$110,000) over the past eight years in Chongqing, Nanjing in eastern Jiangsu Province and Changsha in central Hunan Province.
The suspect has been known to target people withdrawing money from banks and has become an expert at dodging police manhunts, police said.
Zhou is deemed a "Class A" wanted suspect by the Ministry of Public Security. The bounty placed on his head currently stands at 5.4 million yuan, Xinhua news agency reported.
On Saturday, police found a cave in which Zhou was believed to have stayed in on Gele Mountain, according to yesterday's Oriental Morning Post.
"Police collected a shabby deep-green T-shirt, two cigarette packets and excrement inside the cave which was covered with spiders' webs and weeds," the newspaper reported.
More than 1,000 police and military personnel have been involved in the hunt.
People living locally have been warned not to go into the mountains while the search continues and checkpoints have been set up on roads in the area.
Wanted posters with Zhou's picture have been distributed throughout the region.
Zhou was said to have stolen 250,000 yuan during last Friday's robbery outside an outlet of Bank of China in Chongqing. Zhou allegedly grabbed one of the victim's bags and fled. Investigators said the weapon used was an illegally manufactured pistol.
Police said Zhou meticulously planned his move and was "incredibly calm."
Zhou took a motorcycle taxi during his escape and was dropped off at a gas station. Zhou spoke just three sentences during the journey, according to Oriental Morning Post.
Before Zhou disappeared into the mountain forest, he ran along a railway track, attracting the attention of railway police officer Zhu Yanchao, yesterday's Chongqing Morning Post reported. Zhu, 29, was investigating another case at the time and was unarmed.
The officer asked Zhou to stop and showed him his police badge but Zhou shot him in the head and stomach and ran off, only about 10 minutes after the bank killing.
Zhou is said to have been an introverted boy from a poor family in Chongqing's remote Ertang Village.
Zhou, described as a lover of detective stories, did not play with other children in the village in his youth. "He just read detective novels alone and did not hang out with others," said a villager surnamed Qin.
At 15, he was detained for two weeks for harassing women. After that, he worked in other cities for about 25 years, including five years as a railway porter. From 2000 to 2004, he lived in southwestern border regions.
Zhou is said to have been jailed briefly in southwestern Yunnan Province, which borders Myanmar, in 2005 for trafficking firearms.
He is divorced and has one son.
In the eyes of the villagers, Zhou was still a "family man."
He is said to have returned to his hometown after his father died in August last year.
"He sent his father's body to the funeral parlor at night and disappeared the next day," said a villager.
Police have been keeping a close watch on Zhou's mother's house in the village since early this year.
She said her son visited in January, the same month he is said to have killed a bank customer and stolen nearly 200,000 yuan in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Province.
His killing spree began in 2004 when he shot one woman dead and injured another during a bank robbery in Chongqing and escaped with 70,000 yuan.
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