Short on money, an ex-convict from Shaanxi province killed seven people in rural areas during a weeklong spree of violence, police said.

The 33-year-old suspect, surnamed Chen, from Shangnan county in Shaanxi province, has been caught by police, China Youth Daily reported on Wednesday.

Police said Chen served 10 years in jail for robbery.

On April 3, he killed two elderly couples who lived in a remote mountainous village in the county and robbed them of money.

On April 6, he killed two more people in another village of a neighboring county.

Police said all of the victims were elderly people who lived on their own, and they died from blows to the head with a hammer.

Thanks to tips from villagers, police caught Chen as he was trying to kill an elderly man.

The suspect later confessed that he also robbed and killed an elderly man on March 20, bringing the total number of victims to seven.