Hundreds of police officers are hunting for a driver who gunned down two traffic officers along a highway in Guangdong Province Monday night.

The officers stopped the car after they received a report it was heading to Shenzhen without license plates.

Huang Weijiang(L),Zhou Xilai(R)

The circumstances surrounding the shooting remain unclear and police have released few details about it.

Reports said the officers stopped the car in Jieyang, where they were killed.

Zhou Xilai, 44, and Huang Weijiang, 34, based at the Jieyang Traffic Police Detachment, were dispatched to look into an unregistered Toyota sedan and they stopped it on the Huilai section of the expressway.

The gunman fired six shots.

The funeral services for the two police officers were held at Yunshan funeral parlor today.

"We are investigating this case. We've rarely seen such a hideous crime in recent years," an official surnamed Mo at the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department told the Global Times Wednesday.

Police said they received a report that said the unregistered car escaped and was heading for Shenzhen. Police did not reveal why the unidentified driver was on the run.

Police said the gunman used a Chinese-made Type 54 pistol, based on shell casings at the crime scene, which is near the entrance of the Huilai Business and Travel Service Center off the expressway.

A worker at the center surnamed Lin told the Global Times that her colleague heard noises that night, but did not realize it was so serious.

"I went to the scene Wednesday but it was sealed off. I could see blood on the ground," Lin said.

This case raised concerns for police safety.

On March 10, a police officer was shot to death while confronting an armed suspect in Lanzhou, Gansu Province.

Police officer Zhang Chenglie of Lufeng remains hospitalized in Guangzhou after he was shot last December.

The Guangzhou Daily reported that from January to June this year, 39 people were arrested for attacking police.

"All police need to attend training to teach them how to protect themselves while dealing with suspects. But I'm not sure whether the two police officers carried guns or other weapons. It's under investigation now," Mo said.

Insiders said traffic police usually carry small submachine guns when dealing with serious cases, such as fake license plates or drunk driving. However, during daily vehicle inspections, they seldom carry weapons.

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