A man was shot dead in Lashio on Saturday and a woman was shot in the leg in Hsipaw on Sunday, with the perpetrators in both cases still unknown.

The man lived in Ward 7 in Lashio, and was reportedly killed by gunmen at 7:00 p.m. on September 5.

“He died on the spot,” Sai Wathon Tun, who is working with Lashio Youth Volunteer team, told SHAN.

Another volunteer group sent his body to the Lashio hospital.

“A bullet hit the center of his chest. We don’t know which armed group shot him dead,” Lashio local Sai Min told SHAN.

A woman was also shot by unidentified gunmen in Hsipaw town’s Shwe Kyaung ward at 7:30 p.m.

“She has gunshot injuries to her leg. Her situation is not in critical,” Ni Win Oo, the headman of Shwe Kyaung ward, told SHAN.

SHAN called the Hsipaw Myoma police station for comment, but the police officer who answered said that the investigation is ongoing and he could not comment on it.

Shootings are common in northern Shan State, but locals say that the gunmen are rarely apprehended and arrested.

“Most cases of shootings disappear sooner or later. The police never arrest the gunmen. We feel we are not safe in this area,” a woman, who lives in Hsipaw, told SHAN on the condition of anonymity.

Multiple armed groups, including the Burma Army, ethnic armed organizations, and the military-backed People’s Militia Forces are active in northern Shan State.