Shootings at two police stations in Vietnam's Central Highlands on Sunday left numerous dead. 

Officials reported that two police headquarters Ea Tieu and Ea Ktur communes were subjected to mass shootings early Sunday.

An Xo, a spokesperson for the Ministry of public security, announced that 16 individuals were arrested in Cu Kuin district of Dak Lak province following the shootings, with police looking for more suspects.

The assailants held two hostages that were later freed, and a third hostage managed to free himself.  

The official website of the Ministry of Public Security wrote that among those killed and injured are police officers, municipal authorities, and citizens, but it did not release specific figures or statistics.

The Central Highlands in Vietnam are inhabited by a variety of ethnic minorities and are a problematic territory for Vietnam's government, which has long been a source of unrest over problems such as land rights.

During Vietnam's decades-long conflict, certain tribes in the area, known as Montagnards, allied with the US-backed south. Some urge for more autonomy, while others overseas argue for the region's independence.

On Sunday, some official media sources removed accounts of the event before reposting them.

Gun violence is exceedingly rare in Vietnam, as it is prohibited for individuals to carry firearms and there is a restricted illicit market for weapons.

The most recent gun violence that took place was in January 2020 when an illegal cockfighting betting ring left four dead.

Another unusual killing in 2016 left two officials dead in their office in Yen Bai province before the assailant shot himself.