1 dead, 5 injured in Hsinchu shooting Friday

Taipei, Jan. 25 (CNA) A fatal shooting occurred Friday afternoon in Hsinchu County's Zhudong Township, leaving a man believed to be a key figure in an organized crime gang dead, another person critically injured, and four others wounded, according to local police.

The 51-year-old man who died, surnamed Liu (劉), suffered out-of-hospital cardiac arrest after being shot and was proclaimed dead at the hospital when efforts to resuscitate him failed.

Another man was critically injured by a gunshot and four others suffered stab wounds.

According to witnesses, a group of masked men in a white car drove to a soft drinks wholesale store where the incident took place.

They headed straight for the second floor upon arrival, after which several gunshots were heard, and the men then fled the scene in the same car.

The incident occurred at a gathering place of a local gang, and Liu was an important figure in the crime gang, according to sources.

Some local media speculated that the attack may have involved a gang dispute and may have been premeditated as the suspects were all masked, but the police have not officially identified the suspects as gang members.

At a press briefing Saturday, however, Chiu Yu-mei (邱幼媚), the deputy chief of the Hsinchu County Police Bureau, said police "will not tolerate the brazen behavior of gang forces," suggesting that the incident may have involved criminal gang violence.

Lee Chi-hsun (李奇勳), commander of the Hsinchu County Police Bureau's Criminal Investigation Brigade, said Saturday that the incident, from the shootings and stabbing to the suspects leaving the crime scene, spanned no more than five minutes.

The local precinct has sent officers to guard the injured at the hospital and forensics investigators to the scene to collect evidence, Lee said.

After accessing surveillance tapes, the white car has also been found in Hsinchu City, Lee said at a press conference held by the Hsinchu County Police.

Wu Hsueh-an (吳學安), head of the Zhudong Precinct, told the press that police are actively pursuing the five suspects. The possibility of additional accomplices involved in the escape is also being investigated.

The motive is also being looked into, with police focusing on the deceased's social connections and other related circumstances, Wu said.

The Taiwan Hsinchu District Prosecutors Office said Friday night that the chief prosecutor has put a high priority on the case and has instructed a task force to make every effort to bring the suspects to justice.

Also on Friday, Criminal Investigation Bureau Director-General Chou Yu-wei (周幼偉) said police were compiling evidence from the scene, surveillance footage, and information from the Hsinchu County and City police, and he was confident the case could be cracked soon.