The death of a skeet shooter who was shot by a teammate during a training session on Monday prompted authorities to hold an emergency meeting yesterday, calling for stricter management in the civilian use of guns and bullets in Shanghai.

The death of Chen Zejun, 20, a member of Shanghai's skeet shooting reserve team, is believed to be the first case of its kind in the country since 1949.

Chen was heard shouting "I've been shot!" by teammates during the training session at the Shanghai Shooting and Archery Sport Center in Minhang District at about 6:40 pm, before police arrived at the scene.

Sources from the Shanghai sports bureau (SSB) said Chen's teammate Chen Xiaoyi had loaded a bullet he thought to be defective and unusable into a gun. He reportedly pulled the trigger by accident and fired a shot into Chen Zejun's abdomen.

The injured Chen started to bleed profusely and was rushed by ambulance to hospital, but died after more than two hours in the emergency ward.

"We are looking further into the case," said an insider from the Shanghai Municipal Police Station.

The two offices held a meeting yesterday to discuss the management of civilian guns and bullets, aimed at preventing such cases from happening again.

The SSB has set up a team responsible for dealing with the aftermath, Shanghai-based eastday.com reported.

(China Daily December 7, 2007)