Suspect shot dead in Tainan City SWAT raid
An armed suspect who shot at and injured a Kaohsiung City police officer last week was shot dead during a SWAT team raid on his hotel room in Tainan City this morning, October 31.
According to police, the suspect, named Chen, put a pistol to his own temple and pulled the trigger, but the gun jammed. Chen then pulled the pistol’s slider, and pointed the gun at police. Three police officers opened fire, leaving Chen’s body riddled with 16 bullets, concentrated on the head, chest, arms, and left leg.
Chen, 43, was wanted for shooting at two police officers in Kaohsiung City, October 26. At around 10:00 am, Tuesday, two unarmed officers went to a residence in Sanmin District to find an 80-year-old man, named Huang, who had not showed up to serve an eight-year prison term for attempted murder.
Unbeknownst to the police officers, four men, all with criminal histories involving guns and drug crimes were inside the house at the time. Three of the men panicked on seeing police, and barged through the front door, knocking the police officers off their feet. One of the men, Chen, drew a handgun and fired at the ground in front of the police officers. A 27-year-old police officer was hit in the shin by a ricocheting bullet.
A search of the house uncovered a quantity of drugs, including 700 grams of amphetamine, suspected heroin, a large number of needles, and 11 bullets. During the subsequent investigation two suspects, named Lin, 50, and Lee, 41, were arrested.
A police SWAT team was dispatched to a hotel on Kangle Street in West Central District, Tainan City at around 1:00 am this morning after investigators traced Chen’s whereabouts to a room in the basement of the hotel. A total of 48 police officers were involved in the raid.
When SWAT team members broke down the door of Chen’s hotel room, Chen was sitting on the bed with a gun pointed at his temple. Chen pulled the trigger twice. After the gun failed to fire, Chen pointed it at the police.
After police shot Chen, they rushed him to an ambulance already waiting on standby. Chen was taken to the Tainan Chengda Hospital but was declared dead a short time after arrival at the hospital.
A search of Chen’s hotel room turned up one modified pistol, 14 bullets, 4 packs of amphetamines totalling 44.6 grams, three pipes, and a quantity of cash.
Kaohsiung City Police Chief Huang Mingzhou told reporters at a press briefing today, that during the 5-day investigation, one of the arrested suspects, a friend of Chen’s, warned police that once they find Chen, Chen will either kill himself or shoot at the police. Police also said that they have previously arrested Chen in Yunlin County last year, and that he had “fiercely resisted arrest” at the time.
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