Police have arrested a man at Phuket Airport, in relation to yesterday’s shooting of a Russian national in Chergntalay. Thai media reports say the man, believed to be from Kazakhstan, was attempting to leave the country at the time of the arrest.
PHOTO: Thai Rath
ORIGINAL STORY BELOW
Police in Phuket have launched a manhunt following the shooting of a Russian man as he sat in his car in Cherng Talay. The victim, named as 44 year old Aleynikov Dmitry, was parked outside the Anise Tapas Bar and Bistro in Boat Avenue yesterday morning, June 7, when the shooting occurred.
Eye witnesses report a man arriving on a motorbike, parking next to Mr Dmitry’s vehicle. He then jumped off his bike and fired four bullets into the victim’s windscreen on the driver’s side. The suspect then fled on his motorbike.
Media reports say the authorities were notified at around 11.45am and, according to a Phuket News report, Kittipong Noopeng from Chergntalay Police attended the scene with paramedics and a number of officers from the nearby Chergntalay police station. Also present was Jirayut Jirasunthornkul, chief of Cherng Talay sub-district.
The victim was still conscious and sitting in the driver’s seat of his blue GWM Ora Good Cat car. He had been shot several times in the chest and upper left arm and has been taken to Thalang Hospital for treatment.
According to witness reports, the shooter was wearing a red motorbike helmet and his face could not be seen with the visor down. He was also wearing a green riding jacket. Following the shooting, the man fled Boat Avenue and headed towards the Laguna area, about a kilometre away.
The Phuket News reports that police later searched a lagoon in the area and recovered a jacket, gloves, shoes, and glasses that had been dumped in the water. Officers also found a gun which had been discarded nearby.
A number of eye witnesses have reported seeing the alleged perpetrator surveying the area a number of times on the morning of the shooting. Police say their investigation is ongoing and at this time no further information is available as to the nationality of the gunman or any motivation for the attack.
SOURCE: The Phuket News
