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Arrest of shooter delayed by lack of bulletproof gear, transcripts show

Published: 05 Aug. 2025, 12:29 Updated: 05 Aug. 2025, 17:56

The suspect in the homemade firearm murder case in Songdo, Incheon, is transferred to the prosecution from the Incheon Nonhyeon Police Precinct on July 30. [NEWS1]

Police officers dispatched to a deadly shooting in Songdo, Incheon, in July were wearing bulletproof vests but lacked bulletproof helmets and shields, resulting in a delayed entry into the suspect’s apartment, according to police radio transcripts released Monday.

The control room of the Yeonsu Police Precinct instructed officers to equip themselves with tasers, bulletproof vests and helmets at 9:35 p.m. on July 20, four minutes after the report was filed, according to the transcript secured by liberal Democratic Party Rep. Youn Kun-young’s office.

“Any patrol car that has arrived on the scene and is wearing a bulletproof vest should proceed with entry,” the control room ordered seven minutes later, at 9:42 p.m. The precinct officers had obtained the code to the front door of the apartment but refrained from entering.

“There’s a strong smell of gunpowder and metal balls are scattered inside,” said one officer. “The father is inside with a loaded weapon, so we need a SWAT team.”

“We don’t know what could happen the moment our officers enter,” the team leader at the scene reported. “We need bulletproof helmets and shields. We can’t enter unprepared.”

“We’re wearing vests, but we don’t have helmets,” the team leader replied when asked by the control room whether they were equipped with bulletproof gear. “We have shields, but they’re not bulletproof.”

At 9:54 p.m., 23 minutes after the initial report, the control room again asked whether the officers had the door code. The team leader confirmed they did but added, “The issue isn’t entering, it’s that the suspect might shoot at police with a homemade gun.”

A police mobile patrol unit also arrived at the scene but was wearing stab-proof vests rather than bulletproof ones. The unit assisted with crowd control and firetruck access.

Ammunition used by the suspect in the homemade firearm murder case in Songdo, Incheon. [INCHEON METROPOLITAN POLICE AGENCY]

When the control room instructed officers to identify the ages of the suspect, victim and caller, the team leader replied urgently, “That’s not the issue right now! The suspect, the father-in-law, is waiting in the living room with a homemade gun. We need a SWAT team here immediately!”

The control room also asked officers to attempt to negotiate with the suspect to rescue only the victim's husband. But officers responded, “The caller says she’s too afraid of the father-in-law to speak with him.”

Officers entered the apartment at 10:43 p.m., 72 minutes after the initial report, deploying the SWAT team. However, the suspect had already fled.

“When officers arrived, the door lock had already been broken,” the team leader reported at 10:49 p.m. “We were holding the door in case the suspect tried to escape, but we’ve confirmed he’s no longer inside. He may have escaped before we got there.”

The 62-year-old suspect was apprehended in Seoul’s Seocho District at 12:20 a.m., roughly three hours after the shooting.

He is accused of fatally shooting his son — who was throwing him a birthday party — on the 33rd floor of an apartment building in Songdo at around 9:31 p.m. on July 20, using a homemade gun. He also faces charges of attempting to kill four others inside the apartment at the time: his daughter-in-law, two grandchildren and a foreign tutor.

Police also discovered 15 containers of flammable liquids — such as lighter fluid in bottles and detergent containers — and a detonator with a timer set to trigger a fire on July 21 at the suspect’s residence in Dobong District, northern Seoul.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY JANG GU-SEUL [[email protected]]