Sun once made a flamethrower as part of a school science fair, said Cheng, his former tutor. He thought “a day would come when zombies would appear,” she added. He had also devised an escape route from his home, she said.
“What I recall most is that when these school shootings happened in America, he would tell me that if he had been on the scene he would definitely be the first to protect his classmates, so he needs to have a strong physique,” said Cheng, who added that she once helped him research how to join a police SWAT team.
Sun’s parents, actor and assistant film director Sun Peng and actress Di Ying, could not be reached for comment. But Di told Taiwanese broadcaster Sanlih E-Television that her son was a “military affairs fan” who was “making a joke” about his school in the U.S.
Tuo, his father’s friend, told reporters he remembers Sun as “a very polite kid who had good grades, very disciplined and very kindhearted.”
“He lives in a family full of warmth, and his parents are very kind to him,” Tuo said. Regarding his arrest, he said, “I think it is a very, very big misunderstanding.”
Before moving to Pennsylvania, the teenager completed two years of high school at the private Kang Chiao International School in New Taipei City, publicity head Wu Hao-ming said.
Prior to that, he achieved average grades at the private Wego Elementary School in Taipei, where he was popular among peers and teachers and showed no interest in guns, academic director Liu Jen-hao said.
“So this matter (in the United States) we find rather surprising,” Liu said.
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