Investigators yesterday made public video footage of a suspect in the investigation into the election-eve assassination attempt on the president and vice president. They urged the person in the video to contact them as soon as possible.
"He was standing in the `hot area' when the shooting took place and eight witnesses have testified against him. I think it is necessary to have a talk," said Wang Wen-chung (
The "hot area" is a triangular section in front of No. 16 to No. 18 of Jinhua Road, Sec. 3, in Tainan City. According to forensic scientist Henry Lee's (
PHOTO: CNA
Wang released the footage at a press conference at the headquarters of the Tainan City Police Department yesterday morning, which was the 126th day after the assassination attempt.
The man in the video is in his 30s or 40s and wore a grey shirt. The video shows him looking around furtively. He also between 165cm and 170cm tall, which fits investigators' calculations.
"Our forensic analysis, research and experiments showed that there is a 90 percent chance that we are looking for only one gunman who fired two shots, because less than one second elapsed between the two shots," Wang said.
However, Wang said that Lee has been unable to determine how many gunmen were involved. The forensic scientist's detailed analysis will not be available before next month.
Until now, Lee has only confirmed that the two bullets that injured the president and the vice president were both homemade, that they had been fired from a homemade pistol and that the gunman was standing in the "hot area."
Lee said more than once that he was merely helping local police to analyze the evidence, rather than helping them to find suspects. He has also said that his research sheds no light on how many gunmen were involved.
Tainan Prosecutor Wang San-jung (
"I hope he reports to us as soon as possible," Wang San-jung said.
Wang Wen-chung said that, between March 19 and July 22, law enforcement officers received a total of 249 tips from the public about the assassination attempt. However, 228 of these tips turned out to be irrelevant and were dropped from the investigation.
"At this moment, we still welcome any useful information from anybody who might have witnessed some unusual but crucial activity at the scene on March 19," Wang Wen-chung said.
People with information can phone the number 0800-000-100.
A car bomb killed a senior Russian general in southern Moscow yesterday morning, the latest high-profile army figure to be blown up in a blast that came just hours after Russian and Ukrainian delegates held separate talks in Miami on a plan to end the war. Kyiv has not commented on the incident, but Russian investigators said they were probing whether the blast was “linked” to “Ukrainian special forces.” The attack was similar to other assassinations of generals and pro-war figures that have either been claimed, or are widely believed to have been orchestrated, by Ukraine. Russian Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, 56, head
SAFETY FIRST: Double the number of police were deployed at the Taipei Marathon, while other cities released plans to bolster public event safety Authorities across Taiwan have stepped up security measures ahead of Christmas and New Year events, following a knife and smoke bomb attack in Taipei on Friday that left four people dead and 11 injured. In a bid to prevent potential copycat incidents, police deployments have been expanded for large gatherings, transport hubs, and other crowded public spaces, according to official statements from police and city authorities. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said the city has “comprehensively raised security readiness” in crowded areas, increased police deployments with armed officers, and intensified patrols during weekends and nighttime hours. For large-scale events, security checkpoints and explosives
‘POLITICAL GAME’: DPP lawmakers said the motion would not meet the legislative threshold needed, and accused the KMT and the TPP of trivializing the Constitution The Legislative Yuan yesterday approved a motion to initiate impeachment proceedings against President William Lai (賴清德), saying he had undermined Taiwan’s constitutional order and democracy. The motion was approved 61-50 by lawmakers from the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who together hold a legislative majority. Under the motion, a roll call vote for impeachment would be held on May 19 next year, after various hearings are held and Lai is given the chance to defend himself. The move came after Lai on Monday last week did not promulgate an amendment passed by the legislature that
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1