Man arrested for allegedly making guns to 'catch harmful wild animals'

A man has been arrested for allegedly building homemade, functional air guns to “catch harmful wild animals."

The man was taken into custody on charges of violating the Act on the Safety Management of Guns, Swords and Explosives, according to the Gangwon Provincial Police Agency on Tuesday.

The man purchased gun parts online from overseas stores beginning in 2021 and built and stored three homemade air guns, two crossbows and a large quantity of bullets and arrowheads at his home in Chuncheon, Gangwon, the police said. 

The homemade firearms seized from the man could be fitted with scopes and magazines, while the crossbows were designed to fire not only arrows but also steel pellets, according to the police.

The caliber of the bullets he made was about 8 millimeters, far larger and more destructive than those used in ordinary air guns, which are typically 4.5 millimeters to 5.5 millimeters. The rounds were powerful enough to easily penetrate plywood two centimeters (0.79 inches) thick, according to the police.

Police launched the investigation after receiving a tip that someone was making lethal homemade weapons.

The investigative team, comprising a special operations unit, search dogs and a forensic investigation team, was able to seize guns and crossbows hidden in places including the ceiling, along with bullets, arrowheads, gun parts and design specifications.

The suspect had also made bullets in various shapes and test-fired them several times inside the house or in the front yard, according to the investigation team.

The man told police he had made the guns to "catch harmful wild animals," but investigators found that he had never actually used them to capture anything.

Police are now investigating whether there were accomplices, including anyone who may have provided gun parts or shared methods for making the weapons.

“Even if a homemade firearm is made out of curiosity, it can constitute a serious crime that directly threatens the lives of the public,” Gangwon Provincial Police Agency Commissioner Choi Hyun-seok said. “Anyone in possession of illegal weapons is asked to turn them in or report them to the nearest police station.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

BY PARK JIN-HO [[email protected]]