Two Chinese students were shot dead in the Canadian capital Ottawa at about 2:45 AM on Tuesday, according to the Chinese Embassy there.

According to Jiang Yuansong, the embassy's counselor and consul general, the two men were both in their twenties and were shot while in a bar drinking and singing karaoke in the city's Chinatown. One of them died on the spot and the other died in hospital.

The students were from Qinghai Province and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and studying at Algonquin College and Carleton University. Local police refused to reveal the victims' names and further details of the case before informing their family members.

The embassy advised Chinese citizens to be vigilant when traveling abroad.

There were a few shooting cases in the city two weeks ago, but local police denied any relationship between them and said they would bring those responsible to justice as soon as possible.

(CRI.com, China.org.cn December 7, 2005)