The police in Taipei, Taiwan province, chased and killed an unarmed suspect after firing 51 shots Sunday morning.

The pursuit, which mobilized 24 officers in five police cars and on eight motorcyles, began near the Zhongzhen museum and continued through Taipei County for more than 20 kilometers.

When the suspect's car was finally stopped, the police fired 33 shots and hit the suspect with five shots, two in the stomach and three in legs. The police also fired 18 warning shots as the suspect fled, bringing the total shots fired to 51.

The suspect Zhong Changhai, 42, had a previous record that included illegal possesion of firearms, extortion, robbery, and narcotics abuse. He was reported to be stealing bamboo mattresses from a furniture store at 8 a.m. Sunday.

Late Saturday night, he also appeared at a coffee shop and threatened a foreign couple with a gun. Other citizens called the police and reported the license number of the vehicle Zhong was driving.

Zhong was dead on arrival at the hospital and was found to be unarmed. The police found only a toy gun at the suspect's home.

In response to a question about the number of shots fired, Taipei's Wanhua district police bureau director said: "We are doing an internal investigation."

(Xinhua News Agency September 18, 2006)