Guard dies in car chase ( 2003-11-19 10:37) (eastday.co)
A security guard was killed in Shanghai Monday night while assisting police in a
90-minute, high-speed car chase that sent another guard and a police officer to
the hospital.
The scene had all the elements of a Hollywood action movie, complete with
hundreds of officers and a shootout with two carjacking suspects who were found
to be carrying toy guns.
The chase began after the two male suspects, who police would only identify
by their surnames, Zhang and Song, carjacked a taxi using the toy guns just
after 10 pm on Monday.
According to the Shanghai Public Security Bureau, the pair got into the cab
on Huaihai Road in Luwan District and asked the driver to take them to a remote
location in rural Jiading District.
Once there, they pulled out the toy guns and ordered the cabbie to get into
the back of the car, but he bolted the scene and reported the incident to
police.
That triggered a massive chase that involved 60 police cars and 10 trucks
used to block off roads.
During the pursuit, one police car ran head-on into a truck, killing civilian
security guard Cui Renfa, 47, and injuring another guard and a police officer.
Both of the injured men were sent to a hospital, but their wounds are not
considered life-threatening.
"At Shangda Road in Baoshan, we managed to trap the taxi," said Yao Zhirong,
director of Baoshan District Public Security Bureau.
After ensuing there were no hostages in the car, police drew their weapons
and fired on the suspects.
They tried to escape but were forced to stop and were captured, Yao said.
"We have only seen scenes like this on TV or in movies before," said Yao.
Cui is the second member of the city's civilian security force - security
guards who sometimes assist police but are not part of the force - to be killed
on the job since last month.
On October 18, an office building guard was stabbed to death as he tried to
stop a mugging in Huangpu District.
Cui, who earned a mere 700 yuan (US$84.34) a month for his work, leaves
behind an unemployed wife and daughter, who is studying at a local university.
"We are working for a solution for Cui's family," said Yao.
Chen Zhenhua, vice director of the security bureau's command department,
asked reporters to stand for a minute of silence during a police press
conference yesterday. Police say they are still investigating the case, and no
charges have been laid.
The two suspects face charges of robbery and severely breaking traffic laws
but not murder, according to the security bureau.
