An altercation over the use of a washroom might have been the cause of the shooting in Ottawa on Tuesday, which resulted in the deaths of two Chinese students.

The two students, reportedly identified as Tian Linhai and Liu Tailang, were shot dead at the Fullhouse Karaoke Tea Cafe in the city's Chinatown at about 2:45 AM, local police confirmed yesterday.

The Chinese Embassy in Ottawa would not confirm the students' identities because "their relatives said they were not willing to make the names public," Wang Pengfei, an education officer at the embassy, was quoted by China Daily as saying.

But copies of their passports indicate that the students were from northwest China's Qinghai Province and north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region respectively. Both were 20, Wang said.

A report on a Canadian Chinese website, www.ttcen.com, said the two students had a bitter quarrel with a group of people, allegedly of Vietnamese ethnicity, over the use of a washroom and eventually came to blows with them.

One of the other group walked out of the cafe and returned minutes later with a handgun. He rushed to the room where the Chinese students were singing, shot several shots and then fled. There were other Chinese students in the room at the time.

Claims were made on the website confirming that the shooter was a Vietnamese. But the Chinese embassy said the case was still under investigation and refused to confirm these claims.

"It might be true, but so far it is just speculation," Wang said. "We've urged the Canadian police to solve the case as soon as possible."

Local newspapers said detectives wouldn't reveal a possible motive for the shooting and have yet to identify any suspects, although it's believed there was only a single shooter.

Police said they have not recovered the weapon, believed to be a semi-automatic handgun, according to a report by the Ottawa Citizen, a local newspaper. Police don't believe the shooting was related to illegal gambling or drugs.

Danny Tam, 19, who visits the club at least once a week, said he was shocked to hear of the shooting because the place felt safe. "It's not like gambling; it's just casual," he was quoted by the paper as saying.

Many youths in the area said that the cafe is a popular nightspot for young Asians particularly foreign university students, the report said.

The bar used to be an Asian fusion restaurant called Basil Leaf before it was transformed into a karaoke bar and bubble tearoom a few months ago. It opens from 11 AM to 3 AM the following morning.

But Peter So, owner of So Good Restaurant located opposite to the crime scene, told the paper he was not surprised to hear about the shooting, and said the area has become more dangerous.

"I think this street has a problem," he was quoted as saying.

So pointed out spray-painted graffiti on the brick walls beside his shop, which he called gang symbols, the report said. He wanted to see more police patrols in the area.

Relatives of the two victims are expected to arrive in Ottawa at the weekend, Wang said. They might get insurance compensation and part of the tuition fees back, but the exact amount was not revealed.

(China Daily December 9, 2005)