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Police commander failed to respond promptly in Incheon shooting

Published: 26 Jul. 2025, 19:02 Updated: 27 Jul. 2025, 16:17

An investigator examines an elevator at an apartment building in Yeonsu District, Incheon, on July 21, a day after a shooting occurred. [NEWS1]

A police commander responsible for overseeing the frontline response failed to arrive at the scene for over 70 minutes during a deadly shooting incident in Incheon, according to records.

The commander only reached the scene after a police SWAT unit had already entered the residence, missing the critical window for an early response.

According to documents obtained by Democratic Party Rep. Youn Kun-young’s office, the first 112 emergency call was made at 9:31 p.m. on July 20 by the wife of a 33-year-old man who had just been shot by his father.

Responding officers issued a Code 0 directive — the highest-level emergency response protocol — prompting three patrol cars to arrive at the scene within 10 minutes. However, the designated situation commander failed to accompany or meet the initial responders.

Under police regulations, a commander must be present with the initial team in a Code 0 scenario to assume operational control until a higher-ranking officer arrives. If the commander cannot respond due to resource constraints, the most senior officer on scene must be designated as acting lead. Neither measure was implemented during the incident.

With no clear chain of command in place, officers on site believed the suspect, a 62-year-old man, was still inside the apartment.

Concerned that forced entry could escalate the threat to the family, they waited for the SWAT team to arrive. The tactical unit reached the building at 10:16 p.m. and entered at 10:40 p.m., only to discover that the suspect had already fled. The situation commander arrived three minutes later, at 10:43 p.m.

Despite the suspect having damaged the digital door lock with gunfire — effectively rendering the entrance accessible — police did not attempt to enter the residence before the SWAT team’s arrival. It wasn’t until 11:18 p.m., nearly 1 hour and 47 minutes after the initial call, that officers confirmed via CCTV that the suspect had escaped through the first-floor lobby.

Critics say a quicker assessment of the suspect’s escape could have accelerated both the victim’s rescue and the suspect’s apprehension.

The local police precinct said officers maintained contact with the victim’s wife, who was hiding inside and believed the gunman was still present, which made entry difficult. “Officers attempted to observe the interior from the terrace,” the precinct said.

Police lines are seen draped over the entrance to a residence in an apartment complex in Yeonsu District, Incheon, on July 21, where a father shot his son a day earlier. [YONHAP]

The commander acknowledged their delayed arrival but insisted they were coordinating operations from the police station.

“There were four of us in the control room, and one person couldn’t handle all the radio communications,” the commander told Yonhap News Agency. “So I relayed instructions via our internal network. I also tried to look up the apartment’s layout online.”

The commander also admitted to not being fully aware of the proper response protocol. “It’s true I wasn’t completely familiar with the manual,” they said.

Addressing criticism that they failed to command the SWAT team, the commander responded, “There was a communication failure while I was en route, and by the time I got there, the team had already gone in. I went up to the 33rd floor but didn’t enter the apartment to avoid contaminating the crime scene.”

As public criticism mounted over the police’s handling of the incident, the National Police Agency said it had launched an internal investigation. “We will thoroughly review whether there were shortcomings in the initial on-site response,” a police official said.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY KIM JI-HYE [[email protected]]