Authorities yesterday detained for questioning three men named as the principal suspects in two cases of gun violence on Monday — a bank robbery in Changhua and an attack in New Taipei City.
Police listed a 47-year-old man surnamed Chen (陳) as the suspect in the armed robbery of Sixth Credit Cooperative of Changhua after he was placed in judicial detention.
Chen faces charges of robbery and illegal firearm possession.
Prosecutors presented surveillance footage that appears to show Chen running out of the credit cooperative while being pursued by police and firing a warning shot from a modified handgun.
The cooperative’s assistant manager, surnamed Chang (張), and other witnesses told police that the suspect, who was wearing a cap and mask to conceal his face and was carrying a backpack, entered the establishment at 12:13pm on Monday, held up the firearm and shouted: “This is a robbery!” before demanding that a female clerk give him money.
However, the clerk told the suspect that she only processes paper transactions and had no money, they said, adding that after a few nervous moments, the suspect moved to another counter and demanded that money be put into his backpack.
Other bank employees triggered an alarm under the counter, the sound of which caused the suspect to rush out the front door at about 12:17pm, they said.
The surveillance footage shows the suspect running into alleyways to get away and, after seeing police officers pursue him, firing a warning shot into the air before continuing his escape, and later discarding his cap and the firearm.
With the assistance of passersby, the police officers apprehended the suspect about 500m away and later recovered the cap and handgun, which was found to have been discharged once and held 11 bullets in the magazine.
The suspect was taken by police to record his statement and later transferred for questioning by prosecutors, with the Changhua District Court approving his detention, citing the likelihood that he would attempt to flee and tamper with evidence, while awaiting further investigation and the collection of evidence.
In New Taipei City, police said that they identified two suspects connected with an incident at a residence in Tamsui District (淡水).
The duo had fired five bullets, police said, adding that no one was injured, but the residence and a vehicle sustained damage.
The two suspects, surnamed Cheng (鄭) and Feng (馮), were yesterday taken into custody, with one reportedly in possession of a modified handgun, and face charges of attempted manslaughter and illegal firearm possession.
Preliminary findings indicated that the two suspects know the residence’s owner, who reportedly owed them NT$200,000, and the financial dispute led to the incident, police said.
Background checks were under way to verify if organized crime and debt collection firms were involved, they said.
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