Taiwanese prosecutors yesterday cleared Sean Lien Sheng-wen, son of Kuomintang honorary chairman Lien Chan, of staging a shooting of himself the day before last month's municipality elections in a bid to sway the outcome.
However, three weeks after the gunman was arrested and an extensive inquiry launched, they stopped short of revealing the motive.
Local authorities had been under mounting pressure since the incident amid various conspiracy theories, including one that the shooting was orchestrated.
'What can be ascertained is that we have ruled out the claim by certain people that the shooting was self-directed,' said Chen Cheng-feng, spokeswoman for the Banqiao Prosecutors' Office in Xinbei city, formerly known as Taipei county.
Lien was shot at close range by gunman Lin Cheng-wei during a campaign rally in Yungho on November 26. The bullet killed a bystander after hitting Lien's left cheek and exiting near his right temple.
The gunman insisted he shot Lien by mistake, despite having tried to pull the trigger a second time.