A?fugitive was shot dead in northeastern China's Heilongjiang Province on Tuesday, the provincial chief detective said yesterday.

Wang Houjun, who beat a police officer into a coma and stole his pistol on May 5, was Heilongjiang's most wanted man and a nationwide search had been launched by the Ministry of Public Security, the Harbin-based news portal dbw.cn reported.

The officer, Zhang Hui, was found lying unconscious near a grocery store in Harbin City, Heilongjiang's capital, at about 7:45pm, said chief detective Yan Zizhong. His pistol and five bullets had been stolen. Wang was identified as the suspect and the hunt was launched.

There was a breakthrough on Tuesday when a fisherman called police saying Wang had asked him for food.

Officers found him near an island in Songhua River.

Wang ran into the river and was chased by officers. He suddenly shot at them and officers returned fire, killing him. The pistol stolen from the police officer was recovered from the river.

(Shanghai Daily September 11, 2009)