Man charged with Chinese consulate shooting in US

Updated: 2011-12-20 10:49

(Xinhua)

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LOS ANGELES - A 67-year-old Las Vegas man was charged Monday with firing shots at the Chinese Consulate near Koreatown in downtown Los Angeles with his arraignment slated for Tuesday.

Jeff Baoliang Zhang, a naturalized US citizen who originated from Shanghai, China, faces more than 20 years in state prison if convicted,according to Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

Zhang was charged with assault with a semiautomatic firearm and shooting at an inhabited dwelling for his role in the Thursday shooting, said Deputy District Attorney John Gilligan.

At a brief hearing held earlier on Monday, a judge set bail for Zhang at $400,000 and put off his arraignment, which was supposed to take place during the hearing, until Tuesday.

The man has been held in lieu of $100,000 in bail at the Los Angeles Police Department's Metropolitan Detention Center. Prosecutors plan to request that he be jailed without bail.

Zhang allegedly approached a guard at the consulate in the 400 block of Shatto Place shortly after 2 pm (2200 GMT) Thursday, prosecutors said. He then allegedly began firing rounds from his 9 mm Smith and Wesson handgun, which hit the building.

No one was injured during the incident.

The gunman turned himself in to police later Thursday.