Tragic deaths from homemade guns
(Baonghean) - Although homemade guns have very powerful destructive force and are on the list of items prohibited for personal possession and storage, many people still use them as self-defense weapons. As a result, many deaths have occurred...
Heartbreaking incidents
Many days have passed, but the relatives of Ha Van Xien (37 years old, residing in Na village, Nam Nhoong commune, Que Phong district) still do not know who fired the gun that caused Xien's death.
Earlier, at around 4 PM on December 5th, Mr. Xiến was picking vegetables in the forest when he was suddenly hit by a muzzle-loading rifle bullet, sustaining very serious injuries. He only managed to call his relatives to inform them before losing consciousness. Mr. Xiến was then taken to the hospital for emergency treatment but did not survive due to a bullet penetrating his lung.
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| Medical personnel at Keng Du Border Guard Post provide first aid to Mr. Uy, who attempted suicide using a homemade gun. (Photo: Archival image) |
Mr. Ngan Van Chin, Chairman of the People's Committee of Nam Nhoong commune (Que Phong district), believes that it is highly likely that while Mr. Xien was picking fruit in the forest, someone hunting mistook him for a wild animal and fired a gun.
Just three days later, Mr. Vi Van L. (56 years old), residing in Hanh Dich commune (Que Phong district), was also shot in the abdomen while setting squirrel traps in the forest. After being shot, Mr. L. endured the pain and called his relatives to inform them. After receiving first aid at the Que Phong District Medical Center, due to the severity of the wound, which punctured his abdomen, the victim was transferred to Nghe An Friendship General Hospital for emergency treatment.
Not only in mountainous areas, but also in Vinh City and the lowland districts, the use of guns and firearms to resolve conflicts is not uncommon. On the night of December 3, 2018, Le Anh Tuan (born in 1986), residing in Vinh City, held a party at a restaurant in Hung Dung ward.
During the party, Nguyen Anh Tu and Pham Trung Hieu, two guests, had a personal dispute that escalated into a fight. Tu then pulled out a handgun and threatened to shoot Hieu, but Ho Viet Cong, who was sitting at the same table, intervened, wrestled the gun away, and fired five shots into the ceiling, causing many people present at the restaurant to scatter in panic.
After arriving at the cafe, the group continued to argue and stabbed each other with scissors. Suddenly, two people with guns fired several shots into the crowd, injuring two onlookers. The Vinh City Police subsequently arrested and prosecuted Nguyen Anh Tu (born in 1986) for "Illegal possession and use of military weapons"; and Ho Viet Cong (born in 1993) for "Illegal use of military weapons".
Notably, there has recently been a surge in the buying and selling of components and assembly instructions for various weapons, explosives, and support tools, especially air guns, on social media.
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| The suspect, Luu Van Thang, along with the seized evidence, was arrested by Thanh Chuong Police. Photo: QT |
In March 2019, the Thanh Chuong District Police caught Luu Van Thang (born in 1967), residing in Hamlet 8, Thanh Huong Commune, Thanh Chuong District, red-handed for manufacturing muzzle-loading rifles to sell to those in need for illicit profit. During the arrest, the police seized one muzzle-loading rifle, one AK47 military rifle, and 15 rounds of ammunition.
Criminal prosecution is necessary.
Currently, the number of firearms, especially homemade guns, among the population remains very large. A segment of the population in border areas, remote areas, and mountainous regions still uses weapons and explosives to hunt wild animals and catch aquatic and marine products, posing many potential risks to public security and order.
According to the leaders of the Nghe An Provincial Police, although the number of weapons and explosives surrendered by the people and seized by the authorities in the past period has been very large, in 2019, the police force mobilized efforts to recover 516 firearms of various types, 13,262 bullets, 9 bombs and mines... contributing to limiting the causes and conditions for the 발생 of crime. However, completely preventing the possession, buying, selling, and use of homemade firearms still faces many difficulties.
In reality, although homemade guns are very powerful and are included in the list of weapons prohibited for personal possession, many people, especially in mountainous areas, remote regions, and areas inhabited by ethnic minorities, still secretly possess and use these weapons to hunt birds and animals, and consider them as self-defense weapons when going into the forest.
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| Police forces in communes across Con Cuong district have successfully recovered hundreds of homemade guns that residents voluntarily surrendered. Photo: Tuong Vi. |
Furthermore, in many violent clashes and murders within the province, the perpetrators used homemade guns. The nature of these cases shows that the perpetrators' criminal behavior is becoming increasingly reckless, thuggish, and aggressive, and the illegal possession and use of weapons is truly alarming. However, there are currently many shortcomings in the criminal prosecution of the manufacture, sale, possession, transportation, and illegal use of weapons with similar functions and effects to military weapons.
At the recent National Assembly session, in light of the increasingly complex situation of crimes committed using homemade weapons with similar functions and effects to military weapons, Major General Nguyen Huu Cau - Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee, Director of the Provincial Police Department - stated that, based on the reality of combating crime, this is a very serious type of crime.
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| Homemade guns can be just as lethal as military weapons. |
"The types of weapons commonly used by criminals include shotguns, revolvers, pen guns, homemade guns... which have very high lethality. When committing crimes, these types of criminals often cause particularly serious consequences, infringing upon the lives and health of others," Major General Cau said, adding that criminal prosecution for the manufacture, sale, transportation, storage, use, and illegal appropriation of weapons with similar functions to military weapons is absolutely necessary and reflects Vietnam's consistent criminal policy.