Gang boss shot hours after rival gunned down

KUMAMOTO (Kyodo) A 55-year-old gang leader was found shot in a condominium parking lot in the city of Kumamoto early Sunday, hours after a rival gang leader was gunned down, police said.

Bunji Nakamura, head of the Chushin-kai crime syndicate, was found at around 1:05 a.m. by police officers who rushed to the scene after hearing several gunshots. He was listed in serious condition with gunshot wounds to the face, lower abdomen and other parts of his body. According to the Kumamoto Prefectural Police, the Chushin-kai is a splinter group of the major regional crime syndicate Dojin-kai, whose 56-year-old boss, Yoshihisa Matsuo, was fatally shot in Fukuoka on Saturday evening.

Matsuo was shot in the head as he got out of a car, the police said.

Matsuo became chairman of the Dojin-kai, based in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, in May 2006. His appointment prompted some members to leave the syndicate to form a new group, and the two have subsequently clashed. The police said they are searching for two men in their 20s seen fleeing the scene of the Kumamoto shooting.

The Fukuoka Prefectural Police warned of a possible escalation between gangster groups in the region.

Nakamura was shot in the right shoulder in July 2006 in Koshi, Kumamoto Prefecture. A senior member of his group was killed at his home in Kumamoto this June.

The Dojin-kai is one of the largest syndicates in the Kyushu region. It has around 950 members operating in Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki and Kumamoto prefectures.

The parking lot where Nakamura was found is about 200 meters from the Kumamotokita Police Station.