Robber Who Grabbed Police Gun and Pulled Trigger Spared by Safety Mechanism

A 50-year-old man who attempted to shoot an officer with a police-issued firearm during a struggle while evading arrest has been sentenced to prison.

The Ulsan District Court's Criminal Division 11 recently sentenced the defendant, identified as A, to eight years in prison on charges including attempted murder and attempted special robbery.

The incident began when A committed a robbery against a woman in broad daylight.

In April, after a woman opened the driver's side door and got into a parked car, A opened the passenger-side door, climbed in, threatened her with a weapon, and forced her to drive to the parking lot of a secluded motel.

Upon reaching the parking lot, A attempted to bind the victim's hands and feet.

The victim strongly resisted by repeatedly honking the car horn and screaming. A tried to subdue her by striking her in the face before fleeing the scene.

Following a report, police ambushed A the following day at a vacant lot in Nam-gu, Ulsan.

Officer B, who responded to the scene, and A ended up wrestling and rolling on the ground.

During the struggle, the holster retention device attached to Officer B's vest broke, causing the service pistol to fall to the ground. A managed to grab the fallen firearm first, aimed it at Officer B from a distance of 3 meters, and pulled the trigger.

However, the bullet was not fired because the trigger was blocked by an accidental discharge prevention mechanism.

Police quickly subdued A immediately afterward.

Investigations revealed that A committed the crimes just about three months after being released from prison, where he had served a sentence for gambling offenses. He reportedly pulled the trigger believing he would face severe punishment if captured by police.

The court stated in its ruling, "Even in court, the defendant shows no remorse, offering implausible excuses such as claiming he picked up the gun to commit suicide." The court added, "Despite multiple prior convictions for robbery resulting in injury, sex offenses, and violations of the Road Traffic Act, he committed another crime during a probationary period, demonstrating a remarkably weak awareness of the law."

Reported by Kim Jiuk | Video by Lee Eui-sun | Graphics by Yook Do-hyun | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.