2015 Sejong and Hwaseong shootings
| 2015 Hwaseong shooting | |
|---|---|
| Location | Hwaseong City, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea |
| Date | 25–27 February 2015 |
Attack type | Spree shooting |
| Weapons | Firearms |
| Deaths | 8 (including both perpetrators) |
Non-fatal injuries | 2 (1 by gunfire) |
| Perpetrators | Two unidentified men |
The 2015 Sejong and Hwaseong shootings startled South Korea and led to immediate adoption of GPS monitoring of firearms. Shooting incidents in South Korea are extremely rare, and as such they garner international news coverage; the two unrelated spree shootings were widely reported as was the adoption of the gun control measure.
Shootings
At 8 a.m. in the morning of 25 February (23:00 GMT Tuesday), in Sejong, South Korea's administrative capital, a gunman shot and killed three people at a convenience store, then killed himself at another location.[1] The three victims were the gunman's ex-girlfriend's father, brother, and current boyfriend.[2] In South Korea, keeping a gun in the home is not allowed; the shooter checked out two shotguns from a police precinct two hours before.[1]
On 27 February, a spree shooting occurred in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi, South Korea. An elderly man shot and killed three people—his brother, his sister-in-law, and a policeman—and injured another police officer before committing suicide. He had checked out a hunting rifle at a police station before driving to his brother's house. A niece of the gunman was injured jumping from a second-story window to escape.[3][4]
International coverage included the Los Angeles Times[2] and BBC News[1][4]
The incident caused South Korea's Yonhap News Agency to criticize the nation's gun control regulations for hunting weapons, and led immediately to gun control regulation changes.[5]
On March 2, the first business day following the Friday incident, South Korea's National Emergency Management Agency, its National Police Agency, and the ruling Saenuri Party agreed to require GPS monitoring of guns in the nation.[6]
References
- 1 2 3 "Three killed in South Korea shooting". BBC News. 25 February 2015.
- 1 2 Steven Borowiec (February 27, 2015). "Gunman in South Korea kills 3, himself; second fatal shooting in 3 days". Los Angeles Times.
- ↑ The Korea Herald. "Four killed in Hwaseong shooting". koreaherald.com. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
- 1 2 "BBC News - Gunman kills three in South Korea". BBC News. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
- ↑ "South Korea to Tighten Gun Control Amid Frequent Shooting Rampages". Daily Times. March 1, 2015.
- ↑ Kim Yon-se (March 2, 2015). "Police to track guns via GPS". The Korea Herald.