A speeding car driven by three kidnappers who were firing their guns at pursuing police slammed into a concrete pole early morning Tuesday, killing all three suspects, police said.
The police chase and shootout came after the three suspects stabbed and shot to death one of two kidnapping victims, according to provincial police.
Preah Sihanouk police chief Chuon Narin said the incident began just after midnight Tuesday in front of Hotel 520 in Sihanoukville’s Buon commune.
Three armed “criminal kidnappers” seized one victim, but the victim tried to fight back and was stabbed and shot, Narin said.
The suspects grabbed the second victim and drove off toward National Road 4 as police approached the scene, Narin said. The police chase continued into Prey Nob district, with the suspects firing back at pursuing police.
“Our force on patrol heard the gunshot and arrived at the location to find the dead [body],” Narin said. “We chased them into Prey Nob. The suspects didn’t stop and were firing back at the police, and at that time we used the right to defend ourselves” and shot the suspects.
“The suspects were injured and were driving very fast and hit a big electric concrete pole very hard. The pole broke into two pieces and the three suspects died — two of them at the scene and another one after being sent to a hospital.”
The first kidnapping victim was stabbed in the gut while being dragged into a car, said provincial spokesperson Kheang Phearum. As the man tried to push himself out of a car door, the suspects shot him in the head.
The second kidnapping victim was handcuffed in the vehicle, but survived, Phearum said.
Narin, the police chief, said: “The team of three armed people had grabbed their own nationals, and after checking the evidence and their items and means used in their activities, they were criminal kidnappers.”