The suspect who killed his son with a homemade firearm after the son prepared a birthday meal for him has yet to reveal his motive during police questioning, raising further questions about the case.
Meanwhile, the victim's bereaved family has claimed that the suspect also attempted to attack other people present at the scene on the day of the incident. The police plan to focus their investigation on this aspect.
The bereaved family of the deceased Mr. A (33) stated in a letter sent to some media outlets on the 22nd, "The suspect tried to kill not only the victim but also his daughter-in-law and grandchildren, who were present at the scene."
The family explained, "After the birthday party, while eating cake together, the suspect said he was going to the convenience store for a moment. He then returned carrying a bag containing the firearm, fired two shots at the victim, and pulled the trigger twice at the victim's acquaintance, but the gun misfired both times."
They added, "When the daughter-in-law, who had hidden after evacuating the children, came out of the room briefly to rescue the victim, the suspect reloaded the firearm, shouted at her, and chased after her. When she locked the door to the room where the children were hiding, the suspect repeatedly tried to open the door and threatened her to come out."
The family stated, "It appears that the suspect planned and attempted to indiscriminately kill everyone present at the scene, but failed due to problems with the firearm."
However, the suspect, Mr. B (62), who is the father of Mr. A, reportedly told police during questioning that "I only intended to kill my son," contradicting the family's account. The police plan to question the family and other witnesses to determine whether Mr. B actually attempted additional murders. The police received a statement from the family's legal representative the previous day and plan to begin questioning the family starting today.
Meanwhile, during police questioning, Mr. B stated that "there were family conflicts," but has not provided specific details about his motive. Despite repeated questioning by the police, he has reportedly avoided answering, saying, "Don't try to find out."
Regarding this, the victim's family stated, "We cannot overlook speculative reports suggesting that the suspect had any motive for the crime, which is why we are expressing our position. The suspect meticulously planned and brutally killed the innocent victim in front of the family. There can be no mitigating motive for the suspect's crime."
They added, "The victim never showed any indication that he knew about his parents' divorce for the sake of the suspect. The claim that the suspect committed the crime due to 'family conflict caused by divorce' is completely unfounded."
The police plan to deploy three profilers to attempt to build rapport with Mr. B and further investigate his motive for the crime.
Mr. B is suspected of firing a homemade firearm and killing his son, Mr. A, at an apartment in Songdo-dong, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, at around 9:31 p.m. on July 20, 2025. After the crime, the police tracked Mr. B, who had fled, and arrested him in Seoul at around 12:20 a.m. the following day, then transferred him to Incheon.
It was found that Mr. B used a pipe-shaped homemade firearm to fire two consecutive rounds of 'shot' containing multiple metal balls. On the day of the crime, which was Mr. B's birthday, his son Mr. A held a party attended by Mr. B, the daughter-in-law, two grandchildren, and an acquaintance.
In addition, at Mr. B's home in Ssangmun-dong, Dobong-gu, Seoul, police discovered 15 flammable items, including PET bottles filled with thinner, detergent containers, and milk cartons, as well as ignition devices. The timer had been set to ignite them at noon on the 21st. In police questioning, Mr. B stated, "I learned how to make firearms from YouTube, and I bought the bullets 20 years ago and kept them in storage."
Meanwhile, the National Forensic Service performed an autopsy on Mr. A's body and gave police a preliminary verbal opinion that "he is presumed to have died from organ damage caused by gunshot wounds to the right chest and left abdomen (side)." The police plan to confirm detailed autopsy results, including tissue and toxicology tests, from the National Forensic Service at a later date.
A police line has been set up at the residence of a man in his 60s who fired a homemade gun in Incheon on the 21st, causing the death of his son. Photo by Yonhap News
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