A man died after being shot at least 10 times in his chest, arms and legs at a crowded marketplace in Tainan County’s Yongkang City (永康市) yesterday morning.
The killing came one day after three masked gunmen stalked and robbed a man of NT$77 million (US$2.38 million) in Tainan City on Monday.
In yesterday’s attack, a man surnamed Hung (洪) was shot at about 7am, during the morning rush hour, in a busy area close to schools, hospitals, residential buildings, shops, markets and a police station.
An eyewitness saw three men drive by and attempt to force Hung, 37, into their car. While Hung was struggling forcefully, one of the men pointed a gun at Hung and shot him at close range in various parts of his body.
Most shots hit Hung in the chest, the eyewitness said.
Hung died on the way to the hospital.
Police and investigators said the suspects left the gun at the scene as they fled in the car they had arrived in.
Initial police reports point to conflict over unpaid debts or illegal drugs as possible motives for the crime. At press time, police had brought in an unidentified suspect for questioning.
Monday’s robbery took place at 3pm when a man identified only by his family name, Tsai (蔡), withdrew NT$77 million (US$2.4 million) from a branch of Mega International Commercial Bank (兆豐國際商銀) in the city and returned to his watch shop a few blocks away.
As he stopped his car in front of his shop, three masked gunmen approached him and tried to grab the two trunks filled with cash he had brought from the bank. Tsai and two of his employees tried to stop the gunmen. During the struggle, one of the robbers shot a female employee in the leg.
The gunmen made off with the money in a car that was later found to be a stolen vehicle, police said.
The wounded woman was rushed to a nearby hospital. Doctors said she suffered a fractured shin.
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