3-19 Shooting Incident - Investigation Beginning

Investigation Beginning

Within hours, police announced that the crime was not political, and that the People's Republic of China was not involved. Some Pan-Blue supporters theorized that the incident was staged in order for Chen to gain sympathy votes. while some Pan-Green supporters theorized that the assassination was a part of China and those pro-China politicians' plot to claim Chen's life and crush Taiwan's democracy.

These speculations were considered highly offensive by both camps and were not condoned by the leaderships of the two sides until after Chen had already won the election.

Two bullet casings were found by a civilian under a police car after it was driven away. The casings found suggested that only two shots were fired at the motorcade. Their assembly also suggested that they were fired from home-made guns. It is unclear as to whether they were fired from the same gun, or from different guns.

The police did not find or identify any suspect involved in the shooting. There were several people the police wanted to question based on erratic behavior, such as leaving the scene in a hurry as recorded by surveillance camera. A few people showed up after they recognized themselves on the broadcast footage, but these proved to be inconclusive.

The bullet trajectory proposed by the police suggested that a bullet struck the windshield, entered Lu's knee, and then fell out. Another bullet fired from the Jeep's side struck Chen's stomach and traveled through his jacket and lodged in the rear of the jacket until recovered by the hospital staff.