TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a former member of a criminal syndicate over the fatal shooting of another former gangster in Shinjuku Ward earlier this year, reports TBS News (July 12).
At around 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, police apprehended Masaru Abe, a 56-year-old former member of the Sumiyoshi-kai, at a parking lot in Edogawa Ward.
On January 21, Abe allegedly shot Lee Hung Jong, a 65-year-old former Sumiyoshi-kai member, three times in the chest and arm inside a karaoke parlor in the Kabukicho red-light district. The victim was later confirmed dead at a hospital, police said previously.
Just before his apprehension on Thursday, police spotted a vehicle that is believed to have been used by the suspect. When he arrived to use the vehicle, about 10 officers were waiting for him.
Abe became violent as he attempted to flee. However, he was eventually taken into custody. At the time, he was in possession of one pistol, police said.
“I aimed for his heart and fired several shots,” Abe was quoted by police in admitting to murder.
Following the shooting, Abe fled by motorcycle. Police later found a motorcycle, helmet and red hat at an apartment building in the Okubo area, about 600 meters from the where the incident took place. The suspect remained on the run until Thursday.
Lee was a national of South Korea who left the Sumiyoshi-kai more than two decades ago, police said.
