Three people were dead and two others injured in a north China killing spree, local hospital and police sources said Tuesday.

The suspect, who mutilated himself when being surrounded by police, is being treated in the Chengde Central Hospital in Chengde City, Hebei Province, according to a witness surnamed Chen in the hospital.

The suspect hacked three people to death in the Shaanxiying residential area and then went to the hospital Monday evening, where he injured two others before police arrived, Chen said.

He was then cornered by police at the balcony on the fifth floor in the hospital building. He kept injuring himself in the head with knife as the police tried to persuade him to give up.

The public security authorities identified the suspect as a local resident in Chengde. They said investigation was still going on, and further information would be disclosed later.