TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A second car driven by the suspected shooter of Lin Shih-chieh (林士傑) was found on Monday (July 8), while police say the suspect may have fled the country.
The 53-year-old Tainan City Fisherman's Association chair was killed in front of his home on Monday morning. The shooter destroyed two cars during his escape and may have fled overseas, reported Newtalk.
An investigation has revealed the suspect checked into a motel at 6 p.m. on Sunday (July 7) and checked out after 4 a.m. on Monday. He then loitered on Lane 533, Section 2, Jiankang Road in Tainan's South District, before walking to Xinle Road where Lin lived.
At 5:44 a.m., when Lin was about to leave his house, the gunman ran up and fired 11 shots with two handguns, then fled the scene. He drove a getaway vehicle to a parking lot on Lane 53, Xinjian Road in South District, where he then set it on fire.
Police found two handguns inside the vehicle, which are undergoing forensic analysis. Since there is a waterway leading to the open sea just 500 meters south of where the car was abandoned, and the area often has inflatable rafts, the police are not ruling out the possibility that the gunman may have escaped via the waterway and received assistance.
Around 5 p.m., investigators found a second car suspected to have been used by the gunman to escape in the Kaohsiung area. They also found an empty bottle of hydrochloric acid, and the car's interior appeared doused with acid.
The police suspect the gunman may have continued to flee southward and may have already left the country. Police said they will continue to track potential accomplices or boat owners who may have aided in his escape.
