Taiwanese man takes woman hostage in 12-hour standoff with police

台灣男子劫持女子與警方對峙12小時

The woman was released early afternoon, gunman surrendered hours later without incident


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Police in central Taoyuan engaged in a 12-hour standoff with an armed man who took his ex-girlfriend hostage early Sunday morning (July 16), several days after a bitter breakup.

Fortunately, the suspect, a 39-year-old man surnamed Chen (陳) released the woman in the early afternoon, and eventually surrendered himself to authorities without harming anyone, reported UDN. The man allegedly suspected his ex-girlfriend of cheating, and around 5 a.m. Sunday morning, entered her apartment with a handgun and locked them both inside.

The distressed woman contacted her family by phone and her mother reported the situation to local police in Taoyuan District’s Long’an neighborhood. This launched a standoff that lasted almost 12 hours, with police officers on the street level blocking off access to the entire apartment building.

Around 1 p.m., Chen relented and allowed the woman to leave the apartment unharmed. However, he was initially unwilling to surrender himself to the authorities, and remained in the residence for several more hours.

He reportedly barricaded himself inside a room of the apartment and threatened to kill himself as negotiations with police officers continued throughout the afternoon. To diffuse the situation, police contacted several of Chen’s friends and relatives, who came to the scene to help coax Chen safely out of the standoff.

Eventually, around 5 p.m., Chen allowed officers to peacefully enter the residence. They confiscated his handgun, and took him into custody, escorting him from the building to a police car, which took him to jail.

UDN reported that Chen served prison time in the past for charges related to illegal ownership of firearms and ammunition.