BEIJING () -- The gunman whose shooting spree and battle with police left nine people dead and 40 wounded was an army first lieutenant who had been disciplined for beating a soldier, Beijing police said Wednesday.


Police identified him as Tian Mingjian, a member of an army unit stationed in the capital's suburbs, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. It did not elaborate on the beating case.


The Xinhua report said police blamed Tian for all the deaths, although there had been questions as to whether two of the victims, an Iranian diplomat and his son, were fired on by the gunman or caught in the cross fire with police