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Zhou
KEHUA
Classification: Murderer
Characteristics: Robberies
Number of victims: 10
Date of murders: 2004 - 2012
Date of birth: February 6, 1970
Victims profile:
7 men and 3 women
Method of murder:
Shooting
Location: Jiangsu,
Hunan and Chongqing, China
Status:
Shot and killed by police on August 14, 2012
Zhou Kehua
(simplified Chinese: 周克华;
traditional Chinese: 周克華;
pinyin: Zhōu Kèhuá, February 6, 1970 – August 14, 2012)
was a Chinese gunman suspected of murder and robbery. According to
Chinese media, he is believed to be involved in at least nine
murder and robbery cases. Therefore, he used to be an A-level
wanted criminal of the Ministry of Public Security.
Early life
Zhou was born in Jinkou Town, Shapingba
District, Chongqing in February 6, 1970. In 1985, at age 15, Zhou
was jailed for 14 days on molestation charges. In 2005, he was
jailed again for arms trafficking. In 1991, Zhou stole a shotgun
in Chongqing. Two years later, he was arrested and sentenced to
Re-education through labor for illegal possession of firearms. In
1997, he purchased a Type 54 pistol near the border of China and
Burma in Yunnan Province.
Crimes
Zhou is suspected to have killed ten people and
robbed millions of yuan in Jiangsu, Hunan and Chongqing between
2004 and 2012.
According to police investigators in Changsha,
Zhou Kehua had been a mercenary soldier in Burma until 2004, which
explained his familiarity with guns.
Death
After a massive manhunt, Zhou was shot and
killed by police on August 14, 2012.
Controversy
Despite repeated confirmations from Chongqing
authorities, many Chinese are suspicious that the killed person is
not Zhou Kehua, but instead a plain clothes policeman killed by
accident. Zhong Shan Commentary, a Hunan TV show, summarized the
suspicion and accusation on August 21, 2012.
Wikipedia.org
Serial killer Zhou Kehua dead
China.org.cn
August 14, 2012
A man who is accused of a series of robberies
and killings since 2004 died in a shootout with police Tuesday
morning in southwest China's Chongqing municipality.
Zhou Kehua's DNA information, provided by police in Jiangsu
Province, and his physical description, provided by police in
Changsha, Hunan Province, laid a "solid foundation" for the
operation, police in Chongqing said.
The search
for Zhou has been going on since Friday morning, as he is
suspected of having killed a woman and injured another two in a
robbery in which he is thought to have stolen 250,000 yuan
($39,300) from the victims.
Zhou is also
suspected of killing a railway police officer on Friday when the
officer was patrolling a section of railway in Chongqing.
Pictures released by Chongqing police showed Zhou in a blue
T-shirt and a pair of suit pants lying in a pool of blood with at
least one visible bullet hole in his head and a mobile phone, a
pair of sunglasses and a small handbag near his body.
The pistol that Zhou used in the robberies can also be seen in the
photos.
Crowds of local residents once gripped
by the terror created by the alleged serial killer were seen
standing along nearby streets, watching a police vehicle carrying
Zhou's body leave the scene.
The alleged killer,
described as "ruthless and highly dangerous" by China's
authorities, became infamous for robbing people withdrawing money
from banks and repeatedly dodging police manhunts.
The Ministry of Public Security classified Zhou as a "class-A"
suspect. In all, 5.4 million yuan in rewards were offered for tips
leading to his capture.
Timeline
Since 2004, Zhou Kehua is suspected of being involved in a series
of robberies and shootings.
April 22,
2004
One woman was shot dead and
another woman injured in a bank robbery in Jiangbei district, in
Southwest China's Chongqing. The suspect took 70,000 yuan
($11,005).
May 16, 2005
Two suspects shot and robbed a couple near a bank in Shapingba
district in Chongqing. A passer-by was also shot. The couple died.
The suspects made off with 170,000 yuan.
March 19, 2009
A People's
Liberation Army soldier standing guard outside a garrison in
Chongqing was shot dead. The victim, identified as 18-year-old Han
Junliang, was shot twice in the chest with a pistol. The suspect
took the garrison guard's submachine gun and ran.
Oct 14, 2009
A 56-year-old
farmer was shot dead in a park in Tianxin district of Changsha,
capital of Central China's Hunan province. The suspect used a
homemade gun.
Dec 4, 2009
A 41-year-old man was shot dead outside a bank in Tianxin district
of Changsha. The victim had withdrawn cash and was walking to his
car when the suspect shot him in the head. The suspect took 45,000
yuan from the man.
Oct 25, 2010
A trading company owner was shot dead in Yuhua district of
Changsha.
June 28, 2011
A 48-year-old businessman was shot in the head and stomach as he
got out of his car near a construction site in Tianxin district of
Changsha. The man was taken to a hospital and survived.
Jan 6, 2012
A 42-year-old man
was shot in a robbery in Nanjing, Jiangsu province. He was robbed
shortly after he withdrew 200,000 yuan from a bank in the Xiaguan
district. The suspect fled the scene by jumping into a vehicle.
The victim died in a hospital.
Aug 10,
2012
A woman was shot dead and two
others injured in front of a bank in Shapingba district in
Chongqing. A total of 250,000 yuan ($39,300) was stolen from the
victims. A railway police officer was killed when patrolling a
section of railway.
China police: Suspected 'bank
killer' shot dead
BBC.co.uk
August 14, 2012
A suspected armed robber accused of killing at least nine people
since 2004 has been shot dead by police in China's Chongqing,
state-run media say.
Two policemen spotted the suspect in an alley
and exchanged gunfire with him, officials said.
The man, identified as Zhou Kehua, was also
accused of wounding several others in robberies, Xinhua news
agency said.
On Monday, it was reported that a "massive
manhunt" was under way for the 42-year-old in the south-western
city.
On Friday state media said he killed a woman
outside a bank and then a policeman who was pursuing him.
Police were searching for him in a mountainous
area where he was thought to be hiding, China Daily newspaper said
on Monday.
The authorities had offered a 5.4m yuan
($850,000, £542,500) reward for his capture.
Police believed that he was responsible for a
string of robberies in Chongqing and Changsha, and one earlier
this year in Nanjing.
The authorities described him as "ruthless and
highly dangerous" and said he had become adept at dodging police.
"We have not seen this kind of cold-blooded
killer in years," an unnamed police official was quoted by Xinhua
as saying.
Mr Zhou was born in rural Chongqing and is
believed to have worked in other cities in the last 25 years,
including as a porter at a railway station.
He also served time in Yunnan province for
trafficking firearms.
Doubt of Zhou Kehua's death dismissed
China.org.cn
August 22, 2012
Last week, a fierce debate emerged on the
internet about the fugitive bank robber Zhou Kehua, who was shot
dead by police in Chongqing on August 14th. Some cast doubts on
his death, saying the dead man was a policeman from Changsha. But
the speculation was blown away when the policeman himself came
forward.
This is the photo that set off the controversy.
The policeman in the circle, surnamed Duan, is said to resemble
Zhou Kehua, dubbed the most dangerous man in China. And this is
what had some people thinking he was the one police shot dead, by
mistake, on August 14th.
But people who knew Duan soon identified him.
One of his friends said they'd recently had dinner together. The
speculation triggered anger among his colleagues.
"Who posted this photo? It's an invasion of
privacy."
Duan's colleagues confirmed that he was a
policeman in Changsha, and wasn't involved in the Zhou Kehua case.
Duan himself was also supprised.
Mr. Duan, policeman from Changsha, said, "I was
killed? I have nothing to say. It's ridiculous."
Duan says the photo had been posted on the
police station's website, and he doesn't know why he was linked
with the Zhou Kehua case.
"I'll reserve my right to lodge an appeal."
The Changsha police say that all officers
involved in the case have returned from Chongqing, and that no one
had been shot dead by mistake.
42-year-old Zhou Kehua has been suspected of
killing ten people and wounding several others in an eight-year
string of armed robberies. His killing of a policeman in Chongqing
on August 10th set off a massive manhunt that ended 4 days later
in a shoe factory."
