Warning about the current situation of 'hot' weapons related to crime in Nghe An

Use “hot goods” to resolve conflicts

Until now, many people are still shocked by the incident.shootA gunfight that injured one person occurred at around 8:30 a.m. on November 20, 2021, at a coffee shop on Dinh Cong Trang Street, Block 02, Quang Trung Ward, Vinh City. Accordingly, after about 7-8 gunshots rang out, many people in the shop panicked and ran away, one seriously injured person was taken to the emergency room.

The incident was quickly clarified. At the time mentioned above, Mr. N.D.T (born in 1973, residing in Vinh City) and a group of friends were sitting and drinking coffee when suddenly, Dau Duc Thuan (born in 1984), residing in Hung Binh Ward, Vinh City, wearing a mask, walked in from outside, holding a gun and aimed it at Mr. T. and shot him. After shooting Mr. T., Dau Duc Thuan got into a car and fled the scene. Mr. T. was shot and seriously injured, and was taken to the emergency room by relatives.

Immediately after receiving the report, the Director of the Provincial Police Department, the Deputy Director - Head of the Provincial Police Investigation Agency directly directed the Criminal Police Department, Vinh City Police and related professional units to quickly arrive at the scene to focus on investigating, clarifying the case, and arresting the perpetrator. At 10:35 a.m. the same day, the police force successfully arrested Dau Duc Thuan while he was hiding in the area on Mai Hac De Street, Quan Bau Ward, Vinh City; confiscated 1 gun (K59 gun), 2 bullets and 1 car.

Suspect Dau Duc Thuan and the gun used to commit the crime. Photo: Binh Minh

Previously, a serious case involving the use of military guns also occurred in Vinh City. Specifically, at around 8:00 a.m. on April 30, 2021, 3 subjects, including: Dang Ngoc Anh (born in 1956), residing in Ward 1, Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City and Ngo Quang Hung (born in 1979), residing in Vinh Tan Ward, Vinh City, Nghe An Province and Nguyen Duc Nghi (born in 1970), residing in Block 17, Hung Binh Ward, Vinh City, Nghe An Province, came to meet Cao Trong Phu (born in 1962), residing in Hamlet 7, Nghi Kim Commune, Vinh City to settle debts during the time Cao Trong Phu did business in Ho Chi Minh City.

The car the suspects were driving when they arrived at Nguyen Trong Phu's house; the scene where the two victims were shot down. Photo: Thuy Anh

At the gate of Phu's private house, there was a conflict and disagreement between the two sides. Cao Trong Phu then used a gun to shoot at the three subjects mentioned above, causing Ngo Quang Hung and Dang Ngoc Anh to be fatally shot.

Not long before, at around 11:00 p.m. on March 5, 2021, due to personal conflicts, a group of young men, including Tran Xuan Minh (born in 1995), residing in block 8, Trung Do ward, Vinh city; Vuong Anh Tu (born in 1996), residing in block 3, Le Loi ward, Vinh city; Nguyen Manh Hung (born in 1990), residing in block 5, Doi Cung ward, Vinh city; Nguyen Duc Hau (born in 2003), residing in block 9, Quan Bau ward, Vinh city and Le Trung Kien (born in 1998), residing in block 1, Cua Nam ward, Vinh city, made an appointment with a young man named Thang (born in 1997), residing in Ha Huy Tap ward, Vinh city to come and talk at a drinking place in alley 77, Nguyen Thai Hoc street, Vinh city.

During the conflict resolution process, Thang brought three other young men along and threatened them with swords. Before that incident, the two groups of young men got into a scuffle. During the scuffle, Thang's group ran away because they were weaker. During the chase, Hau, Tu, Kien and Minh threw glass cups and beer bottles at Thang's group and his accomplices. Nguyen Manh Hung took out a black GR88 pistol and pulled the trigger, causing a loud bang, disturbing the whole neighborhood.

Combining multiple solutions

The cause of the shooting is different in each case. For example, the military shooting that injured one person occurred at around 8:30 a.m. on November 20, 2021, at a coffee shop on Dinh Cong Trang Street, Block 02, Quang Trung Ward, Vinh City, the cause was determined to be a conflict in a love affair. Or the incident that caused 2 deaths in front of the house of Cao Trong Phu, residing in Hamlet 7, Nghi Kim Commune, Vinh City, Phu thought that the subjects would beat and threaten his life, so he used a gun to shoot at the 3 subjects mentioned above, causing Ngo Quang Hung and Dang Ngoc Anh to be shot and die...

The nature of the above cases shows that the criminal behavior of the subjects is increasingly reckless, hooligan, and aggressive. The subjects storing and using guns are not only the big shots in society but also young adults, aged 18 to 35. The types of guns used are also very diverse, from homemade guns to military guns.

Provincial Police leaders directly directed the scene to arrest Cao Trong Phu (wearing a hat and black shirt). Photo: Reporter Team

In fact, in recent times, the work of propaganda, education and mobilization of people to comply with the policy of handing over weapons, explosives and supporting tools has been continuously implemented by the police of units and localities through many measures. In particular, in addition to focusing on checking and detecting subjects storing dangerous weapons at conditional business establishments and locations with complicated security and order, through patrolling on the road by the local traffic police force, many cases of transporting "hot" weapons have also been discovered.

That reflects the great efforts of the authorities in coordinating and combining the management and control of illegal weapons, but also partly shows the unpredictable danger to security, social order and people's safety in the face of a large amount of "hot" weapons still hidden in the community.

According to the authorities, to prevent these dangerous acts, the police will increase patrols, control the area, and promptly detect gatherings using weapons to commit crimes. In the coming time, the police will continue to mobilize people to proactively hand over weapons, explosives and supporting tools; regularly inspect and detect cases of weapon storage for handling according to regulations. To do this task well, the police will also closely coordinate with other forces, mass organizations... to carry out propaganda work on the consequences of "hot goods"!

Comrade Le Hong Vinh - Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee and Colonel Pham The Tung - Director of the Provincial Police Department awarded prizes to units with outstanding achievements, quickly investigating, clarifying, and successfully arresting the subject who caused the particularly serious murder (killing 2 people) that occurred in Hamlet 7, Nghi Kim Commune, Vinh City, ensuring the safety of the people and officers and soldiers participating in the arrest. Photo: D.C.

In order to reduce and eventually eliminate cases involving “hot” weapons, in addition to propaganda work, it is necessary to launch a mass movement to denounce crimes and strictly handle cases of storing, buying, selling, transporting and manufacturing weapons. Accordingly, it is necessary to add stronger sanctions to increase deterrence and suppress crimes related to military weapons, explosives and homemade weapons.

In addition, professional forces including police, border guards... need to coordinate synchronously both inside and outside the border to promptly detect and handle cases of weapons and explosives storage, and disseminate laws on illegal storage and use of military weapons, explosives, and homemade guns; thereby, gradually overcoming and ending the painful situation caused by serious cases caused by the use of "hot" weapons in recent times.

The crime of illegally manufacturing, storing, transporting, using, trading or appropriating military weapons and military technical means is regulated in Article 304 of the 2015 Penal Code, amended and supplemented in 2017. The law stipulates that the penalty for this crime is divided into four frames. Accordingly, frame one (clause 1) has a prison term of 01 to 07 years. Frame two (clause 2) has a prison term of 05 to 12 years. Frame three (clause 3) has a prison term of 10 to 15 years. Frame four (clause 4) has a prison term of 15 to 20 years or life imprisonment.

In addition to being subject to one of the main penalties mentioned above, depending on each specific case, the offender may also be subject to: a fine from VND 10,000,000 to VND 50,000,000, probation or residence ban from 01 year to 05 years.