A heavily armed Taichung man with a long history of criminal activity apparently shot himself to death in a park near the Presidential Office building yesterday, sparking a temporary security alert, police said.
The man, surnamed Hsiao (蕭), took his own life using a .45 handgun near the White Terror memorial plinth on Ketagalan Boulevard and Huaining Street, police said.
Lai Cheng-kuan (賴正寬), deputy director of the Zhongzheng First Precinct, said the incident was reported at around 2:30pm.
PHOTO: WANG MIN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
The man shot himself in the head, police said. He was rushed to nearby National Taiwan University Hospital, but was pronounced dead at 4:45pm.
Lai said no suicide note was found. Officers also recovered a 9mm handgun, 200 bullets, two magazines and a holster.
Lai said yesterday had been Hsiao’s birthday. The 39-year-old man had a long criminal record, including drug possession, armed robbery, kidnapping, extortion and obstruction of individual liberty.
He was last released from jail in 2005, Lai said.
Police are in the process of contacting Hsiao’s family in Taichung City.
Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) yesterday expressed regret over the incident, saying people must cherish life.
Wang said President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Vice President Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) were in the Presidential Office at the time of the incident. Security was tightened after the gunshot was reported by a plainclothes military policeman stationed outside the presidential complex, he said.
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