Man Threatens Monk with Toy Gun, Flees Police in Wild 50km Chase

[Anchor]

A man in his 50s who threatened a monk at a temple with a toy gun and fled has been apprehended by police following a high-speed chase. During his escape, he repeatedly rammed patrol cars, and a subsequent breathalyzer test revealed his blood alcohol level was at the suspension threshold.

KNN Reporter Jung Hyo-jung has the details.

[Reporter]

Police cars quickly surround a single vehicle.

However, instead of stopping, the suspect attempts to flee by repeatedly ramming into the patrol cars.

Officers fire two warning blanks and four live rounds, but the suspect refuses to stop.

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

The suspect was captured here after leading police on a roughly 50-kilometer pursuit.

The chase began at around 3:00 PM yesterday (July 29) at a temple in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province.

A man in his 50s suddenly entered the temple grounds and demanded that 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. The overwhelming terror actually hit me afterward, quite a while later.]

As a temple official tried to block him, the man drove off, leading authorities on a 90-minute chase before being cornered and caught by police.

Investigations revealed the weapon was a toy gun loaded with around 100 BB pellets, and the suspect was under the influence of alcohol at the time.

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

Five police officers sustained injuries 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)

KNN, Jung Hyo-jung
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.