Gun Arrest Leads to a Crazy Arsenal in Queens

Thanks to a tip from his girlfriend, a Queens man was arrested after the police discovered an arsenal of weapons, body armor and more in his Flushing home. Here's how Newsday described the scene at Suwei Chuang's house:

Detectives retrieved 40 large combat knives, four bullet-resistant vests, a loaded AR-15 assault rifle with a scope and 18 extra loaded magazines, a Fabrique Nationale PS-90 5.7-caliber automatic machine gun, a 12-gauge shotgun, a 9-mm Glock pistol, a .50-caliber rifle, a .22-caliber rifle, four air rifles, six Motorola police-style radios, and the 20,000 bullets.

Eeks. Chuang's girlfriend approached authorities after a "menacing incident" and when police found him Wednesday night at Spruce and Gold Streets in Manhattan, there was an AR-15 assault rifle and, oh, 800 rounds of ammo in plain sight in his Toyota FJ Cruiser.

The police are investigating whether Chuang was selling guns from his home. Reports say Chuang, who is being held on weapons possession charges, emigrated from Taiwan, served three years in the Army, once failed an NYPD psychological exam, and has a 1996 arson conviction.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on January 4, 2008 10:07 AM

Comments [rss]

JacqueMehoff

but you get bumped up the list if you're a veteran as they should.

they served.

Spirit of 76

Three years in the Army in and of itself doesn't mean squat. One would think Abu Ghraib, My Lai and so many other atrocities perpetrated by service members would be proof of that. Not all soldiers are immoral lunatics, but there are quite a few.

chuzzlewit

Hmmm... maybe because he is fucking nuts, or something like that.

JacqueMehoff

I see now, it was probably the arson conviction that did him in. if he knew he had a conviction record, why waste the nypd and his time in applying?

kearnj

Apparently serving in the Army does not influence your mental ability or profile consistent with NYPD police work.

Politburo

I never said the logic didn't make sense.. and my comment wasn't really directed at you personally (though it does read that way, my apologies).

JacqueMehoff

From my cold dead hands.

this guy served three years and can't get into the NYPD? either he ain't a good liar or he didn't have any friends in the NYPD who would help him pass the psych test.

emilydickinson

@ politboro: That is such a cop out. It's just unrealistic. Sadly, there are enough guns in the US to arm every man, woman and child - that's a fact. What do you suggest we do? How about we stop all gun manufacturing in the US right now. No problem, done. There are still that many guns here. Ok, we stop the selling and resale of all firearms this afternoon. Great - done. Everyone who owns weapons will still have them tonight. Offer a realistic solution, like mine above - tax the hell out of ammo.

I'm all for decrminialising drugs as well, and there is a big difference between owning guns and being a firearms activist.

Politburo

"Banning guns will never work ther are way too many already floating around the US."

An oft-repeated refrain from gun rights activists. Yet many of them turn around and support drug prohibition.

dadoc

Gee, how many existing state, city & federal laws did this guy break? Ban guns? They are essentially banned in NYC. Even air rifles (Ralphie never would have gotten that Red Ryder BB gun if Dad lived here). There's lotsa things that are legally "banned"; crack, DUI and political corruption/bribery, to think of a few. But people have/do them. The existence of of a law does not make an action impossible, only illegal.

BTW, the FNC PS-90 is a 5.7mm round, not 5.7 cal

Dadoc

freddyhere

Anyone here gone boar hunting lately? It looks like that 50C howitzer can make some serious impression on them critters...

emilydickinson

It depends. You definitely would have a hard time getting a permit to own a handgun in NYC. You could probably get a license to purchase a rifle, because it's a much different process. The thing is, you can just drive to PA and buy all kinds of nuts hardware over the counter with just a driver's license. The real problem is every state has it's own gun laws, and what we need is a national system. There is no way to keep tabs on things that come from one state to another. It's a mess really. I own guns, but I hate the NRA - those people are just maniacs, but it's mainly their fault that we have such screwy gun laws.

Tgirl

please tell me that one cannot obtain a weapons permit after a failed an NYPD psychological exam + an arson conviction.

emilydickinson

That newsday article is one of the poorest pieces of journalism I have ever seen, and it's just pandering to sensationalism. If he was selling guns, that of course is a crime. I'm assuming that he doesn't have a r+p permit, or any papers for these guns, which would be a crime also. It would help if the article mentioned this, because there isn't anything illegal about posessing firearms. With the exception of the Fabrique (because it is full auto) unless it's pre ban, none of those firearms are illegal in and of themselves. You can purchase an Ar-15, bulk ammo and just about anything else on the web or in PA. The legality of body armor is sort of gray area in New York.

Banning guns will never work ther are way too many already floating around the US. If we want to make a dent in gun crime, just put an enormous tax on ammunition. As an avid shooter I hate to say this, but it makes much more sense than gun control laws that don't work. Although the war in Iraq is already driving the price of ammo through the roof.