(CBS/AP) BEIJING – A Chinese man suspected of killing nine people in armed robberies since 2004 was shot dead by police Tuesday after senior officials ordered he be hunted down, authorities said.

427435 5557<strong>10<\/strong> 3237929999″ style=”max-width:450px;float:left;padding:10px 10px 10px 0px;border:0px;”>The Chinese Ministry of Public Security said police in southwest Chongqing city found and killed Zhou Kehua, 42, after an extensive manhunt. Zhou was one of China’s most wanted fugitives. </p> </p> </p> <p>Police officials said two plainclothes officers spotted Zhou on a street at 6:45 a.m., according to the official Xinhua News Agency. </p> </p> <p>Wang Xiaoyu, one of the policemen who shot Zhou, told Xinhua he was attacked first when Zhou realized he was being followed. </p> </p> <p>“He was less than three meters ahead of us,” Wang recalled, saying Zhou’s first shot missed him by about a centimeter. “I could even feel his cartridge case bounce onto my leg.” </p> </p> <p>Police told Xinhua Zhou had two pistols, three loaded bullet clips and the equivalent of about $1,600 in yuan. </p> </p> <p>The ministry said Zhou was believed to have been responsible for the shooting deaths of several people in Chongqing and two other Chinese cities since 2004. </p> </p> </p> <p>Most recently, Zhou allegedly shot to death one person and injured two in an armed bank robbery in the city on Friday. </p> </p> </p> <p>The latest violence prompted senior Chinese officials – including Public Security Minister Meng Jianzhu and Chongqing Communist Party boss Zhang Dejiang – to issue directives that the suspect be arrested as soon as possible. </p> </p> </p> <p>The ministry said Meng and a vice minister traveled to Chongqing, where they ordered an operation to hunt down Zhou. </p> </p> </p> <p>Photos posted on the website of Xinhua (WARNING: Graphic image) show Zhou lying in a pool of blood with a bullet hole in his head. </p> </p> </p> <p>China bans private ownership of guns, and armed robberies are rare. State media say Zhou’s death brought relief to both police and the public. </p> </p> </p> <p>Immediately after Zhou was shot to death, <A HREF='https://www.ricewinekranma.xyz/'>청주출장업소</A> Meng signed an official document praising the Chongqing police.</p> </div> </div> <div class=

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