"I Have a Gun": Man Threatens Monk, Rams Police Cars, and Flees

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A man in his 50s has been arrested by police on charges of visiting a temple while drunk and threatening a monk with a toy gun. He drove under the influence for 50 kilometers while trying to escape and even rammed police patrol cars.

KNN Reporter Jung Hyo-jung.

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Police patrol cars quickly surround a vehicle.

Instead of stopping, however, the suspect attempts to flee by repeatedly ramming the patrol cars.

Officers fire two blank rounds and four live rounds, but the suspect does not stop.

Ultimately, police smash a window with an expandable baton and deploy a Taser to subdue the suspect.

The suspect was apprehended at this location following a roughly 50-kilometer pursuit with the police.

The chase began at a temple in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province.

A man in his 50s suddenly entered the temple and demanded a monk get into his car.

When the monk refused, the man pulled out an 87-centimeter-long firearm from the passenger seat and threatened him.

[Temple Monk: I thought I was going to die, and the feeling of overwhelming terror came to me later. It hit me a long time afterward.]

When temple staff tried to block him, the man drove off. After an hour and a half of fleeing, he was cornered and captured by police.

Investigations revealed that the weapon was a toy gun loaded with about 100 BB pellets, and the suspect was reportedly intoxicated.

[Shim Hyung-tae, Regional Police Affairs Division, Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency: After sensing the smell of alcohol, we administered a breathalyzer test to the suspect, and his blood alcohol concentration was measured at 0.076 percent.]

Five police officers were injured during the arrest. Police have booked the suspect on charges including violations of the Road Traffic Act, special intimidation, and special obstruction of official duties resulting in injury, and are investigating the exact motive behind the crime.

(Video by Ahn Myung-hwan / KNN, Footage provided by Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency)

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