SHIJIAZHUANG, June 9 -- A villager shot dead four people, including two police officers, and injured five others in north China's Hebei Province, police said Tuesday.

Armed with a double-barrel hunting rifle, the villager, identified as Liu Shuangrui, from Xishibao Village of Suning county, shot dead two fellow villagers and injured three others, the provincial public security department said.

The shooting happened on Monday midnight and lasted to early Tuesday morning, said the department.

During the manhunt, two police officers were shot by the suspect and died in hospital, while another two policemen were wounded, police said.

Liu was was trapped in his house and found dead at around 5 a.m. on Tuesday when police entered the house. The exact cause of his death is not known at the moment.

The injured have been sent to hospitals. Further investigation is under way.