4 shot dead at Vietnam illegal cockfighting ring

Hanoi: Four people were shot dead at an illegal cockfighting betting ring in southern Vietnam, state media reported Wednesday, a rare gun homicide in the communist

country.

Local residents heard gunshots and screams from a garden where the cockfight took place, according to Cong An Nhan dan website, the Ministry of Public Security's official mouthpiece. "There was a quarrel over cockfight betting which led to the shooting," the website reported. State-run VNExpress news site said the suspected shooter fled the scene on a motorbike and was arrested later Wednesday.

Police refused to comment when contacted by the

reporter.

Gun violence is extremely uncommon in Vietnam, where it is illegal for citizens to own firearms and the black market for weapons is

limited.