Gunman believed to have killed himself after cops block escape
A man is suspected to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot after a 4 hour chase ended with his car surrounded in Nantou County last night, July 28.
At around 6:00pm yesterday, a man driving a white Mercedes Benz SUV pulled up outside a residence in Xinping Street, Taiping District, Taichung City, and fired three shots at the garage door.
Police investigating the incident identified the driver of the car as a 32-year-old man named Lai, with previous convictions for firearms offences, beating up an ambulance driver, and domestic violence.
Police dispatched four cars and 10 personnel track Lai down.
After fleeing the scene of the original shooting, Lai fired more shots in front of two police stations in Taichung City before leaving the city and heading toward Nantou County on National Highway 3.
Police tracked the SUV, which belonged to Lai’s sister, by satellite positioning. Because of Lai’s speed, and the fact that he was armed, police followed the vehicle but did not get too close.
On the way, Lai made video calls to friends and relatives, tearfully asking them to take care of his twin three-year-old daughters.
After exiting the freeway at the Wufeng Interchange at around 10:30pm, Lai’s car was surrounded by five police patrol cars while stopped at a red light in Puli Township.
As police surrounded Lai’s car and fired two warning shots in the air, they heard two shots fired from the interior of the suspect’s vehicle. Suspecting they were being fired at, police returned more than 40 shots, aimed at the tires, radiator, and lower parts of the vehicle.
When the firing stopped, police saw no movement from the vehicle and went forward to investigate. Lai was found with a pistol in his right hand, and a gunshot wound to his right temple.
Paramedics applied CPR, but Lai did not regain vital signs, and was declared dead at the hospital.
A forensics examination conducted this afternoon, July 29, confirmed that Lai was shot in the right temple at close range, and that the bullet exited from under his left ear. It has not yet been confirmed whether the bullet was from Lai’s own weapon, or from a police pistol.
A full autopsy will be conducted at 2:00pm tomorrow.
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Sources: Liberty Times Network, United Daily News.
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