Two civilians and four police officers were also wounded in the shootout in Tai´an city in the eastern coastal province of Shandong.[break]
The suspects hijacked four cars in a row, shooting two of the drivers, before they were rammed by a squad car, the China Daily newspaper said.
Three officers died in the shootout with the gunmen, who were armed with a handmade pistol and a double-barreled shotgun. One of the suspects shot himself to death and another was taken into custody.
The paper said the men were suspects in a killing a month ago in nearby Dezhou city and had been hiding at the apartment of a relative in Tai´an.
China has little gun crime but has seen a rise in the black-market trade of smuggled and homemade weapons, prompting a nationwide crackdown last year on illegal firearms.
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