An armed man holding hostages was killed during a pursuit operation by police in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, on Wednesday.

A gun battle started on Wednesday morning at a textile mill in eastern Xi'an when a man surnamed Li confronted police with a hunting rifle and an unspecified number of hostages. He fired several shots at the police and wounded one policeman.

The police fired back when they failed to disarm the gunman. Li was shot dead and all the hostages held were freed safely.

Li had been a worker at the mill and was once jailed for four years for arson. After he was released, he armed himself with guns. The Baqiao Branch of Xi'an Public Security Bureau immediately began an investigation after receiving information from other government departments. The incident happened while the investigation was underway.

(Xinhua News Agency September 24, 2003)