Policemen are investigating outside the teahouse.

Three men were killed and another wounded Saturday afternoon in a shooting spree at an outdoor teahouse in southwest China's Sichuan Province, local police said Sunday.

Investigators said an unidentified gunman opened fire on five men who were drinking tea at a teahouse near the Yazi Dike in Guanghan City at 2:50 p.m., killing three at the scene and injuring one.

Hundreds of policemen were searching for the gunman with the help of criminologists.

Police said the three men killed were natives of Guanghan with the surnames of Zeng, Ruan and Chen.

A veteran criminal, 39-year-old Chen was sentenced to three years in jail with a three-year reprieve in 1991 for intentional injury and was jailed in 1994 and 2004 with charges of harassment, provoking troubles, and illegal gun possession. He was released from prison in July 2008.

(Xinhua News Agency January 12, 2009)