Curious people have been gathering in large numbers at a site which police have been besieging in Cu Chi District, Ho Chi Minh City, since Thursday, as a suspect who had shot to death four people over a gambling quarrel is believed to be hiding there. 

The suspect, 33-year-old Le Quoc Tuan, is a senior lieutenant in the detention unit of the District 11 police bureau in the same city.

Tuan gambled at a gambling ring in Tan Thanh Dong Commune, Cu Chi District, which is about 30km from the city center, around Wednesday afternoon, eyewitnesses said.

He lost all his money and then engaged in a quarrel with other fellow gamblers.

The suspect left the ring, returned with an AK gun, and shot four gamblers to death.

He seemed to be drunk at the time of the crime.

The gunshots also injured a fifth victim at the site and killed a dairy cow nearby.

As police officers are trying to track the suspect, they have been surrounding a densely vegetated area in Cu Chi with armed forces since Thursday.

The days-long siege has attracted large numbers of curious people, including those from the southern provinces of Binh Duong, Dong Nai, and Tay Ninh which neighbor Cu Chi, to the site at the intersection of Trung An Street and 472 Street in Trung An Commune.

The large crowd caused congestion in the neighborhood.

Although police dispersed the crowd that had gathered on Friday evening, another throng of people emerged just 30 minutes later.

Many people even lingered until 00:00 am on Saturday.

In the latest update, Vu Chi Tam, a 40-year-old man from Ho Chi Minh City’s Thu Duc District, has become the fifth person killed by Le Quoc Tuan.

Tuan took Tam's life with seven shots to steal the victim’s motorbike on Provincial Road 15 at around 00:15 am on Thursday.

At least three other people, including one woman and two men, were shot and had their vehicles stolen by Tuan on the suspect’s way to escaping police officers on Wednesday and Thursday.

Police in Ho Chi Minh City decided to launch legal proceedings against Le Quoc Tuan for murder, robbery, and possession and illegal use of military weapons on Thursday.

With a total of five casualties and four people injured by Tuan, police considered the suspect a particularly dangerous criminal.

On Saturday morning, Ho Chi Minh City police expanded search areas for Tuan to the neighboring provinces of Tay Ninh, Long An, Binh Phuoc, which also border Cambodia and are considered the possible gateways for him to flee Vietnam.

The municipal police have also collaborated with authorities in these provinces in hunting for Tuan.

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