One of three robbers also was killed in a struggle for control of the van outside the bank, but two others managed to commandeer the vehicle and escape. Within minutes, pursuing police found the vehicle abandoned and with most the cash still on board. The robbers' take: About 200 thousand yuan (US$26,570).

The incident started around 6:40 p.m. when most city streets were quiet, especially on a day which saw the first snow of the season in Jinzhou. A white security van with a siren-light on top, manned by a driver and two armed guards, approached a branch of the Bank of Construction to collect and transfer cash in its last stop of the day. The van was already carrying three million yuan.

As they transferred cash from the Construction Bank to the security vehicle, the armed guards along with two bank escorts were protecting a considerable sum of money, the total amount exceeding four million yuan (US$ 483,100).

Neither the guards, the escorts nor the driver noticed that they were being watched in the darkness. And when the loading came to an end and before they began to leave, disaster struck.

One of the armed guards outside the minibus was shot in the back of the head. Two robbers rushed the minibus. Xie Jun, one of the bank escorts, found a gun pointing at his chest. Almost out of instinct, he reached out to push the gun away with his bare hands. The gun fired, and Xie Jun fell.

The others on board were shocked and at a loss for a few seconds, giving the robbers momentary control. The driver was the first to react, jumping out of the vehicle to call police. This left one armed guard who also was able to recover himself and shoot one of the attackers. But by this time, the van was moving, with one of the robbers at the wheel.

In the back of the van, the struggle continued, and another bank escort, Du Xudong, was both shot and stabbed. The armed guard on board was also severely hurt and lost consciousness. The attackers pushed them out, and the vehicle kept going.

It took police only minutes to arrive, and they took off to follow the van in the direction pointed out by witnesses. Soon they came across the vehicle, abandoned with the door left wide open. Police found most of the bags of cash left intact. Only one small bag had been cut open, with cash taken from it.

Jinzhou police imposed a night curfew in an attempt to catch the suspects.

According to the latest news from the hospital, the three injured men were all out of danger. The bullet to Xie Jun's chest moved to his armpit where it was removed in surgery. Doctors also sutured a bullet wound to the right ear of Du Xudong.

(Zhang Feifei and Luan Junxue from [Northpearl] December 15, 2001, translated by Liu Wenlong)