"He May Attack Police Officers with a Homemade Gun"
SWAT Team Entered 72 Minutes After Emergency Call
Amid controversy over the delayed police response to the homemade firearm murder case in Songdo, Incheon, it has been revealed that the police officers dispatched to the scene at the time were delayed in entering the premises because they did not have bulletproof helmets or bulletproof shields.
On August 4, Yonhap News reported that this information was included in police radio transcripts obtained by Democratic Party lawmaker Yoon Konyoung's office. According to the transcripts, the situation room of the Yeonsu Police Station, which has jurisdiction over the area, instructed officers to equip themselves with tasers, bulletproof vests, and bulletproof helmets at 9:35 p.m. on July 20, four minutes after the emergency call was received. Seven minutes later, at 9:42 p.m., the situation room ordered, "If the patrol car that has just arrived is wearing bulletproof vests, enter the premises immediately."
The officers from the local police precinct who arrived at the scene had obtained the front door password, but reported, "There is a strong smell of gunpowder and metal pellets are present. The father is inside, armed and ready, so a SWAT team needs to be dispatched."
At the time, the precinct team leader reported, "We don't know what might happen the moment the officers go in, so we need bulletproof helmets and shields. We shouldn't just enter unconditionally." When asked by the situation room whether they were wearing bulletproof vests and helmets, he replied, "We're wearing bulletproof vests, but we don't have bulletproof helmets. Also, we have shields, but they are not bulletproof shields."
At 9:54 p.m., 23 minutes after the emergency call, when the situation room asked if the front door password had been obtained, the team leader reiterated, "We know the password and entering is not a problem, but we are concerned that if we go in, the suspect may attack the officers with a homemade gun."
During the tense situation, when the situation manager at Yeonsu Police Station instructed the team to check the ages of the suspect, victim, and caller, the team leader responded, "That's not the issue right now," and urged, "The father-in-law is waiting in the living room with a homemade gun, so please have the SWAT team arrive as soon as possible to subdue him."
Subsequently, the police mobile patrol unit also arrived at the scene, but they were only wearing stab-proof vests, not bulletproof vests. As a result, the mobile patrol unit was only assigned to secure access for fire trucks and control residents.
Ultimately, the police SWAT team entered the house at 10:43 p.m., 72 minutes after the emergency call was received. By then, the suspect, identified as A, had already fled. It was reported that the police entered the premises late, believing the suspect was still inside, without first checking CCTV footage or tracking the suspect's mobile phone location.
After the SWAT team entered, at around 10:49 p.m., the precinct team leader stated, "When the officers arrived, the front door lock was broken and the door was open, so we were holding it in case the suspect came out. Upon final confirmation, the suspect was not there. It seems possible that the suspect escaped before the officers arrived."
In the end, suspect A was apprehended by police at around 12:20 a.m., about three hours after the incident, in Seocho-gu, Seoul.
Meanwhile, A was arrested on charges of shooting and killing his son, identified as B, who was in his 30s, with a homemade firearm at his 33rd-floor apartment in Songdo-dong, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, at around 9:31 p.m. on July 20. At the time of the crime, the apartment was hosting a birthday party for A, and present inside were his daughter-in-law, two grandchildren, and a friend of the daughter-in-law (a foreign home tutor). A is also accused of attempting to kill these individuals.
Additionally, at A's home in Dobong-gu, Seoul, police discovered 15 containers of flammable materials, such as PET bottles filled with thinner and detergent bottles, as well as ignition devices. It was found that a timer had been set for the fire to ignite at 12:00 p.m. on July 21, the day after the crime.
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