Police hunt for gunman after broad-daylight execution-style shooting in Tainan City
Police today are searching for a man suspected to have shot one man dead, and left a woman fighting for her life, after firing six shots at close range in Jiangjun District, Tainan City, yesterday afternoon, just 60 meters from a police station.
At around 3:00 pm, February 21, a 53-year-old man named Yao (姚) was found slumped in an armchair in the front room of his residence in a quiet fishing village, while his 43-year-old female friend, Ms Guo (郭), lay moaning on the floor in a pool of blood.
A friend of Mr Yao, who had left Yao’s residence at around 2:00 pm, then returned an hour later, reported the incident to emergency services.
Yao was found to have lost vital signs at the scene, and was declared dead at the hospital, while Ms Guo remains in a critical condition. Yao had been shot three times, suffering a bullet wound to his head and two shots to the left side of his chest.
Guo was shot in the head, chest and abdomen, and had a bullet lodged in her frontal lobe. After having the bullet removed during emergency surgery, Ms Guo remains in an intensive care unit with a coma index of 2.
Police are seeking a suspect named Jin (金), who is believed to have had been a close friend of the deceased, with an association dating back more than 30 years.
Jin, 54, was identified on street-camera footage where, dressed in black from head to toe, he was seen exiting from a “white plate” (unlicensed) taxi on a street corner before entering the alley where Yao’s residence is located. Less than 2 minutes later, Jin was seen calmly returning to the taxi.
The taxi driver told police that he had picked Mr Jin up and driven him to the scene, where Jin requested he wait. The driver said that he hadn’t heard gunshots as his windows were wound up at the time, and only became aware of the incident after he was contacted by police.
Neighbors interviewed by police reported thinking that children were playing with firecrackers, and were only aware a shooting had taken place after police and ambulances arrived at the scene.
Investigators found that after the murder, Jin departed in the taxi, changed to his own car, and proceeded to a betel nut stand in Jiali District owned by Ms Guo, and smashed the windows with a baseball bat.
Mr Yao’s sister was quoted in several media reports as explaining that her deceased brother and the suspected killer had enjoyed a close friendship and business association for more than 30 years. Language used suggested a gang affiliation.
The suspected killer and Ms Guo had been girlfriend and boyfriend, according to Mr Yao’s sister, but the couple had grown apart while Jin was serving a prison sentence. While Yao and Guo had become closer, and Guo often visited Yao, and they had enjoyed frequent meals together, it was just a business relationship, Mr Yao’s distraught sister emphasized.
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