HONG KONG — A shooting in which a woman gunned down four of her relatives, killing two, has rattled Hong Kong, a city where such crimes are exceptionally rare.
The shooting on Tuesday, which one local newspaper said was the first reported gun crime since 2015 in the semiautonomous Chinese territory, dominated local news broadcasts and the front pages of newspapers.
The police said that a 44-year-old woman believed to be the attacker had most likely been motivated by a family conflict. They said two of her relatives, an 80-year-old woman and a 62-year-old man, both died at a hospital after being shot in the head. The police said two other relatives had also been shot: a man, 72, in the shoulder, and a woman, 60, in the hand.
It was all the more shocking for its time and location: a sunny afternoon in Quarry Bay, a neighborhood in the northeast of Hong Kong Island. The shooting happened at a park with a large playground and a running trail popular among residents. The suspect, whose name was not released, was arrested soon after at a nearby shopping mall under suspicion of murder and attempted murder. The police recovered a handgun that they say was used in the shooting.
Gun crimes are very uncommon in Hong Kong, and firearm restrictions are strict. People applying for gun licenses are judged on “whether there is a good reason for that applicant to hold a license,” among other considerations. Most of those seeking licenses have to have already been members of shooting clubs before they are approved. They must also pay fees ranging from about $300 for a handgun license to $700 for an ammunition license.
Amid those restrictions, the weapons used in armed robberies often turn out to be toy guns. John Lee, Hong Kong’s secretary for security, said Wednesday at a news conference that no actual guns had been used in robberies last year.
Hong Kong, a city of about 7.3 million people, had about 9,000 violent crimes last year, according to the police. In comparison, New York City reported almost 95,000 major felonies last year.
The South China Morning Post reported Wednesday that the arrested woman was a bodyguard who had worked in mainland China and who advertised security services through a company called BodyGuard01. The company’s website claimed it was a member of the International Bodyguard Association, which the association has denied, and the company’s phone number was disconnected as of Wednesday.
Local news reports said the shooting stemmed from a dispute over a property inheritance. The four victims were siblings, news reports said, and the woman arrested was the daughter of a fifth sibling who died a few years ago.
The police said Tuesday that they were investigating the woman’s possession of the handgun.
James To, the vice chairman of the Hong Kong legislature’s security committee, said Wednesday at a news conference that the gun may have been mailed to Hong Kong in disassembled parts. He also said that private bodyguards are never granted gun licenses; usually only security firms that transport cash are authorized.
Source : Nytimes
