Police officers were deployed to Chaozhou, in southern Guangdong Province, after receiving reports that some people had been shot during a fight on Tuesday night.

“According to a preliminary investigation, two people died at the scene, one died after being sent to hospital and six more were wounded,” the police said on its Weibo social media account on Wednesday.

“Police have identified the suspects and are in pursuit,” the statement added.

Since China has tight restrictions on the ownership of fire arms throughout the country, shootings are very rare in the country.

That is in sharp contrast to the United States, which has the highest gun ownership rate in the world. In America, for every 100 people, there are 88 guns.