The manhunt for the gangster who shot at the police

The young man used four guns to shoot back at the police who were closing in on the area. "It was like an action movie, bullets were exploding all afternoon," said a police officer guarding the scene.

On the night of September 18, Nguyen Van Toan (35 years old, living in Ben Tre), the shooter who held out for hours on the run, along with 6 other accomplices were detained by Binh Thuan Provincial Police. At the end of the siege of this gang from Binh Duong, the police seized 4 pistols, a lot of cash...

Many bullet shells are lying on the floor of Mr. Le Ngoc Bay's house, the first stronghold of notorious gangster Nguyen Van Toan. Photo: Hoang Truong

According to initial investigation, after losing a cockfighting bet to a group of young men in Tan Lap commune, Ham Thuan Nam district, Toan and his accomplices robbed the money and then got into a 7-seat Innova car and drove towards Dong Nai. The local youths chased after them on 2 motorbikes but were blocked by Toan's group who opened fire.

Upon receiving the news, the Ham Tan Traffic Police Team (under the PC67 Department of Binh Thuan Provincial Police) intercepted and stopped the vehicle. When they were about 200 meters from the traffic police checkpoint, Toan and another man got out of the car, jumped into a passenger car and fled in another direction. The group of young men in the 7-seat car were arrested shortly thereafter.

When the bus carrying Toan and his friend was stopped by another group of police, they got out and ran on foot. While their accomplice was restrained right in front of the Z30D prison gate, Toan ran and fired back like rain at the traffic police and Tan Duc commune police.

"He was arrogant with two guns in his hands like a cowboy, continuously shooting at us and threatening 'I will detonate a grenade, we will all die now'. He also had a bag on his chest, afraid that he had a grenade so we did not dare to approach him," a police officer from Tan Duc commune recalled.

"More than an action movie, the gunfight was breathtaking, bullets exploded all afternoon," said another police officer.

Bullet holes through the glass door of Mrs. Do Thi Hien's house (right cover) and the window of Mr. Chieu's house - where the robber ran out and was arrested (left cover). Photo: Hoang Truong

At first, Toan ran straight into Mr. Le Ngoc Bay's house in village 3 to barricade himself, when there was no one inside. Hundreds of police from various forces surrounded the area and called on the suspect to surrender. In response, he continuously fired outside while shouting "I want to die".

After an hour of unsuccessful attempts to attack and persuade the criminal to drop his gun, the police threw tear gas into the area where Toan was hiding. "The gunshots were deafening. He was smashing things around inside. Unable to bear the tear gas, he continued to shoot back and ran away from Mr. Bay's house," said Mr. Bui The Dat, Deputy Police Chief of Tan Duc Commune.

While walking on Highway 1, Toan continuously fired bullets towards the police force that was following him. Many people ran away. After about 100 meters, out of bullets, Toan threw a gun on the side of the road and ran into Tang Van Chieu's house to continue hiding.

At that time, inside the house were Mr. Chieu's wife, 2 children and the neighbor who had not yet escaped. Because the main door was locked, Toan held a gun threateningly on the porch and went to the back, apparently to reload. Mr. Chieu's wife and the neighbor hid behind the washing machine, the older daughter opened the main door and ran outside, but his younger child was still in the bedroom.

Seeing Toan entering the house through the main door, possibly entering the room with the child, Mr. Chieu ran to the side, broke the window, jumped in, hugged his child and ran outside. "If it had been a few seconds later, my child would have been in danger. The blood drained from both father and son's faces," Mr. Chieu said.

Evidence of the Binh Duong gangster group was seized. Photo: Hoang Truong

Confirming that Toan was the only one left in the house, a large number of police officers went deeper inside but quickly retreated when he grabbed a gas cylinder, released gas everywhere and threatened to explode it. Nearly an hour passed, Toan became more aggressive and screamed when he showed signs of being shot in the leg. The police continued to throw tear gas into the house, but he picked it up and threw it outside. People in the surrounding area thought it was a grenade and ran away.

At this time, the special police force with armor, guns, and bulletproof shields mobilized from Binh Thuan Provincial Police arrived and the plan to attack the house directly to arrest Toan was deployed. Many layers of inner and outer rings, on the ceiling there were dozens of police officers lying in wait, to prevent Toan from escaping like when he was at Mr. Bay's house.

When 10 tear gas cannons were thrown inside, dozens of special police officers rushed in. However, Toan opened the window (where Mr. Chieu went to save his son) and ran to the house next door of Ms. Do Thi Hien, where 11 people, both old and young, were locked inside. He only fired a few more shots before the police rushed in and subdued him. Ms. Hien was hit by a bullet in her right hand.

According to VnExpress