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| Police are seen barricading the scene during their negotiation with Kim. / Yonhap |
By Lee Han-soo
Police have arrested the man involved in an armed standoff in Hapcheon, ending a 24-hour negotiation Wednesday.
The man, surnamed Kim, 41, was holed up at Hwangmaesan Tunnel in South Gyeongsang Province.
Police had been in the standoff with Kim after he took his teenage son hostage with a hunting rifle on Tuesday.
Police freed Kim's son after a five-hour negotiation at 10:25 p.m. Tuesday. The teenager was reportedly uninjured.
Police said Kim had attached a shoe lace to his gun and pointed it towards his chest before his arrest.
Kim drove his son to the tunnel after an argument with his ex-wife at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.
He then threatened to kill his son and commit suicide. He demanded to see his ex-wife and fired a shot into the air.
Police had been reluctant to use their special unit because of the risk of accidental harm to Kim or the possibility of a gunfight.
Kim's mother, ex-wife, and son were reported to be at the scene persuading Kim to give himself up.
Meanwhile, Kim is known to have got his rifle from a police station in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province.
The rifle is legally his as he is a registered vermin exterminator. The gun was kept at the police station for safety reasons.
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