PHUKET: A man suspected of being the assailant in yesterday’s shooting at Boat Avenue has been apprehended at Phuket Internaional Airport and charged for overstaying his visa, authorities confirmed today (June 8).
Police could not unequivocally confirm at time of press that the Kazakh national was the person who shot a Russian citizen four times while he sat in his parked car outside a restaurant in the popular area of Cherng Talay just before noon yesterday.
However, provincial police chief Pol Maj Gen Sermpan Sirikong told The Phuket News that the man was intercepted and charged for overstay of his visa while attempting to leave the country and that police are investigating the case further in an attempt to gather evidence related to the shooting and determine whether the man was involved.
“He was charged at the airport for overstay and we are keeping him in custody while we are trying to gather evidence to prove that he is guilty of the shooting,” said Maj Gen Sermpan.
“If he is indeed proven to be the shooter, he will be charged with attempted murder, but for now we are still working on it.”
The suspect is currently in custody at Phuket Provincial Police Station.
The incident happened outside the Anise Tapas and Bar restaurant at the entrance to the Boat Avenue around 11:30am yesterday.
The attacker had been waiting nearby on his motorbike with his face concealed at all times by his crash helmet, eye witness accounts revealed.
Shortly after a Phuket-registered blue ORA car pulled up and parked, the man alighted his motorbike, walked over to the car and fired four shots from a firearm into the wind shield.
The man inside the car, identified as a 44-year-old Russian citizen but thus far unnamed, was struck in the chest and upper arm.
The attacker then clamly walked back to his bike before fleeing the scene, according to witnesses.
Although bleeding heavily, the victim was still conscious when police and medical workers arrived at the scene before he was taken to Thalang Hospital.
There has been no update on the condition of the vitim thus far from police.
