A man surrendered to Chiayi County police after a five-hour long siege in Minxiong Township, during which the suspect fired 50 shots and threw numerous explosives.

Police officers went to a residence in a lane on Jianguo Road after neighbors reported hearing people arguing, followed by three gunshots at around 8:00am. The officers called for backup after a suspect on the third floor responded to their arrival with more gunshots.

Police blockaded the area while a SWAT team and police negotiators arrived. The other residents of the building evacuated the building.

One man who lived on the first floor was held hostage by the gunman for around 30 minutes, until he found an opportunity to escape.

The suspect was identified as a 40-year-old wanted felon named Chen. Chen had been at large after being sentenced to a 13-year prison term in 2011.

During this morning’s confrontation Chen repeatedly threatened to go down with the police, claiming that he was heavily armed, and had two hand grenades. Chen frequently fired bursts from an assault rifle, and threw explosive devices at a frequency of around one every 20 minutes.

Police negotiators finally convinced Chen to hand over his weapons shortly after 1:00pm, and confiscated an assault rifle with nine magazines, a shotgun with 30 rounds of ammunition, 11 handguns, a grenade, and two knives.

After surrendering the weapons, Chen came out of the building wearing a bullet-proof vest, and was promptly arrested.

Chen was arrested at 1:25pm.

Weapons seized after Siege in Chiayi County, August 30, 2019.

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Sources: United Daily News, Liberty Times Network.

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