TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Video was shared online earlier this week on Thursday (April 20) of a shooting outside a pawnshop in New Taipei’s Tucheng District which led to the arrest of a 17-year-old suspect.
During their investigation, police learned the Thursday incident was not the first shooting to target the pawnshop in recent days. Ten days previously, a separate shooting was carried out by another minor, who fired three shots from a handgun into the store.
On Saturday (April 22), a 15-year-old suspect, surnamed Chu (朱), was taken into custody by New Taipei police as a suspect in the earlier shooting. Two accomplices, also minors, were also arrested for their connection to the crime, reported UDN.
According to UDN, police suspect the shootings are related to gang activity and a turf dispute between a faction of the Bamboo Union and a gang identified as the Huashan group. In video of the first shooting, the young suspect, presumably acting on behalf of the Bamboo Union faction, is heard referring to the Huashan group as “trash.”
The young age of the suspects in both shootings leads officers to believe that older gang members orchestrated the attacks. Law enforcement officers will continue to investigate to determine the relevant facts of the situation.
