Taichung Man Sentenced to 6 Years 4 Months for Gun Threat at Swimming Pool

A man identified as Chen, after consuming drug coffee packets in October 2025, illegally entered a swimming pool school in Taichung City's Xitun District. He aimed a handgun at a coach, surnamed Ye, and a 6-year-old girl, pulling the trigger, but the weapon did not fire. The incident caused significant distress to the coach and two young children (a 7-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl). Chen then proceeded to the parking lot, where he used the handgun to strike a car belonging to a citizen surnamed Cai, shattering its windshield and terrifying Cai and his daughter. Police responded to the scene, apprehended Chen, and confiscated a modified handgun, 26 bullets, and a batch of drug coffee packets. Following an investigation, prosecutors indicted him for drug offenses, attempted murder of a minor under 7 years old, and attempted murder. During the trial, Chen pleaded guilty to all charges and had reached a settlement with Coach Ye. He claimed that personal difficulties and depression led him to consume a large quantity of drug coffee packets with suicidal intent, resulting in cathinone poisoning that impaired his judgment, and requested a lighter sentence. The Taichung District Court, on April 13, 2026, sentenced him to 6 years and 4 months imprisonment for attempted murder of a minor and attempted murder, with an additional 2 years of guardianship to be served in an appropriate facility after the completion or pardon of his sentence.