A Chinese man suspected of killing nine people in armed robberies since 2004 has been shot dead by police after senior officials ordered that he be hunted down, authorities say.

The Chinese Ministry of Public Security said police in southwest Chongqing city found and killed Zhou Kehua, 42, after an extensive hunt. Zhou was one of China’s most wanted fugitives.

The ministry said Zhou was believed to have been responsible for the shooting deaths of several people in Chongqing and two other Chinese cities since 2004.

Most recently, Zhou allegedly killed one person and injured two in an armed bank robbery on Friday.

The latest violence prompted senior Chinese officials – including Public Security Minister Meng Jianzhu and Chongqing Communist Party boss Zhang Dejiang – to issue directives that the suspect be arrested as soon as possible.

The ministry said Meng and a vice minister travelled to Chongqing, where they ordered an operation to hunt down Zhou.

Photos posted on the website of the official Xinhua News Agency show Zhou lying in a pool of blood with a bullet hole in his head.

Private ownership of firearms is banned in China, and armed robberies are rare.

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