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.
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