Execution style killing the 5th shooting case in Yilan in recent months
One man died and another was injured after an execution-style shooting in Yilan County in the early hours of the morning today, October 19, and it is the 5th shooting case in the county in a little over two months.
According to the investigation so far, at around 2:00 am this morning, a 23-year-old man, named Liu, followed a car driven by a 22-year-old man, named Luo, with whom Liu had a dispute over a debt.
At the intersection of Xianmin Boulevarde and Huanshi East Road, Liu bumped his vehicle into the rear of Luo’s vehicle, feigning a traffic accident.
When Luo exited his vehicle, Liu walked up to him, and without saying a word, drew a pistol, and fired three shots. Luo was shot at close range in the temple, and in his back, while the third shot was fired at a 31-year-old man named Wu, who was sitting in the front passenger seat of Luo’s vehicle.
When Fire Department paramedics arrived at the scene, Luo had already lost vital signs, and was later declared dead at the hospital. Wu had suffered a gunshot wound to his left forearm.
Around 20 minutes after the shooting, Liu surrendered himself at a police station in Yilan City. Liu handed over a standard pistol, and eight bullets, saying “I killed someone.”
Yilan County councilors expressed concerns about law and order in the county today, pointing out that there had been five shooting cases in the county since early August, and two police officers had been injured.
On August 2, a police officer in Toucheng Township was shot in the chest by a suspect he pulled over for a traffic infringement.
The following day, four shots were fired as a intimidation during an incident at a guesthouse in Wujie Township.
On October 7, the owner of a jewelry store was shot during a robbery attempt in Jiaoxi Township. Fortunately, the bullet grazed his head, and his injuries were not life threatening.
On October 12, a police officer shot a suspect after the man attacked a police officer following a car chase in Sanxing Township. One police officer was injured by the suspect.
County Councilor Xie Canhui said that the police should step up gun-sweeping and drug control, otherwise it will cause unease among county residents. County Councilor Liu Tianwu said that shootings continue to occur, which means that Yilan is very unsafe, and police should strengthen inspections and training.
County Councilor Chen Hongxi believes that after the opening of the Snow Mountain Tunnel, the increase in the population of non-locals has become more complicated, and the police should strengthen the surveillance of suspicious outsiders.
The police department countered that the recent shootings in the jurisdiction are all unrelated cases and should not be over-linked. The police have also solved the cases in a short period of time. Patrols have been stepped up since the recent jewelry store robbery case, and anti-drug operations have also been stepped up, police said.
*Names in this article are Hanyu Pinyin transcriptions of Chinese names.
Taiwan English News is an independent publication with no corporate funding. If you found this article informative, and would like to support my work, please buy me a coffee or support me on Patreon. Subscribe to Taiwan English News for free to receive the latest news via email. Advertising queries are welcome. Share, like, comment below.
When firearms are confiscated from the general citizenry, there are always those who continue to own and use firearms. They are almost always criminals or shady underworld characters. The “debt” mentioned in this article was most probably connected with gambling. To gamblers, all debts can be ignored and sloughed off except gambling debts. I think gamblers are so avaricious that even the low-enforcement authorities are either afraid of them, on the take, or both.