Busan teens’ high-speed chase, shots fired

BUSAN - Five teenagers were arrested by Busan police on charges of stealing a Ssangyong SUV Rexton and crashing into two police patrol cars that tried to capture them, injuring four police officers.

According to Busan Nambu police, a group of five teenage middle school students and dropouts stole the SUV at a parking lot in Bupyeong-dong at 4 a.m. Sunday when a security guard was absent from the scene.

Police started looking for the stolen car the next day and found it around 2 a.m. yesterday, but the teens sped away. Three police cars eventually surrounded the vehicle, but the teens smashed into one, and a high-speed chase began. The police fired two live bullets and a blank cartridge and finally encircled the car in front of a cemetery. The teens locked themselves in and eight officers broke the car’s windows, and arrested the youths after a fierce fight. Three police sustained injuries in the brawl.

“The fact that no other accident occurred was solely due to the lateness of the hour, and the fact that few cars were on the roads,” a police officer said.

By Kim Sang-jin [mijukim@joongang.co.kr]