Police are searching for a gunman who escaped after shooting his colleague at a warehouse in Phuket yesterday, April 6, leaving the victim in critical condition.
Officers from Mueang Phuket Police Station were alerted to the shooting by medical staff at Mission Hospital Phuket. The victim, identified as 40 year old Wirut, suffered gunshot wounds to his body and leg and was taken to hospital conscious but in serious condition.
Wirut’s friend, Jakkrit Panmee, told police the shooting happened at Wirut’s workplace, the warehouse of the retail store in the Mueang district of Phuket The suspect was Wirut’s colleague, 50 year old Prakit. Both of them worked there as sale staff.
Jakkrit said he was not at the scene when the shooting took place. Wirut called him for help, and he rushed to the warehouse, where he found his friend on the ground with bleeding wounds before taking him to hospital.
Police reviewed CCTV footage from the warehouse, which showed Prakit approaching Wirut and speaking with him shortly before opening fire. Officers said the suspect briefly chased the victim and fired another gunshot before fleeing the scene.
Jakkrit told police he did not know the motive for the shooting or whether the two men had any conflict. Investigators are waiting to question Wirut once his condition improves and are continuing the search for the suspect.
In a similar case reported in February, police arrested a Colombian man over the fatal shooting of an Iraqi national on a roadside opposite C&N Hotel on Siriraj Road in Patong, Phuket.
The motive in that case remains under investigation. Rumours circulated on social media claiming the Iraqi victim was linked to a criminal group in Sweden and that the gunman had been hired over a dispute involving criminal benefits, but police had not confirmed those claims.
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