Police arrested three teenagers on Saturday over the April 10 shooting of a New Taipei City storefront, which was also targeted by a 17-year-old with a submachine gun earlier last week.
The suspected gunman in the April 10 shooting, a 15-year-old surnamed Chu (朱), admitted to firing three air pistol rounds into the storefront of the pawn shop in Tucheng District (土城), Tucheng Police Precinct head Hsieh Lung-fu (謝龍富) said.
Chu said he had carried out the attack to intimidate one of the pawn shop’s employees, who had been flirting with the girlfriend of one of his friends, Hsieh said.
Photo copied by Wu Jen-chieh, Taipei Times
Two alleged accomplices, a 15-year-old surnamed Huang (黃) and a 16-year-old surnamed Chung (鍾), were also arrested in connection with the April 10 shooting, which was carried out at around 4am.
Police made the arrests after a video purportedly of the April 10 shooting began circulating online following an attack on Thursday on the same pawn shop, allegedly by a 17-year-old suspect surnamed Liu (劉).
Taking a taxi, 17-year-old Liu allegedly stopped mid-ride at about 8:52am and fired more than 60 bullets into the shop’s storefront before immediately handing himself in by taking the same cab to a nearby police station.
Authorities have yet to determine whether the two attacks were related, New Taipei City Police Department Commissioner Liao Hsun-cheng (廖訓誠) said.
No one was hurt in either of the shootings, police said.
Police were investigating the source of Liu’s weapon and the source of the video, Liao said.
Due to the ongoing investigation, no further details could be publicly disclosed, he said.
On Saturday, Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) said he has asked the National Police Agency to cooperate with local law enforcement agencies to tackle illegal firearms and gang activities in the country.
It is the responsibility of the government to protect the safety of citizens, Chen said.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
RSS