2 top local officials shot dead in northern Vietnam

HANOI, Vietnam – Two top provincial officials in northern Vietnam have been fatally shot by a fellow official in a rare such incident in a communist country where guns are strictly controlled, state media reported Thursday.

The Tuoi Tre newspaper said that Pham Duy Cuong, head of the Communist Party organization in Yen Bai province and Ngo Ngoc Tuan, chief of the provincial legislature, were shot in their offices Thursday by Do Cuong Minh, chief of the provincial forest protection bureau, who then killed himself by a shot to the head.

The two victims were shot two to three times in the chest and stomach, it said.

The newspaper said the incident took place before the opening of a meeting of the provincial legislature.

Provincial officials were not immediately available for comments Thursday. The cause of the incident is under investigation.