Pattani manhunt under way after apparent road-rage shooting
Police in the southernmost province of Pattani on Monday were hunting for a group of men in a Mitsubishi Space Wagon who had opened fire on another vehicle following a road-rage incident on Sunday.
Mueang Pattani police were alerted at about 8pm to a shooting in front of Benjamarachuthit School.
At the scene, they found a Totoya pickup at the roadside with two bullet holes, one in the passenger-side mirror and the other in the rear of the truck.
On one of the seats, there were traces of blood from Nureeda Jarong, 29, who had been rushed to a nearby hospital after suffering an injured left arm during the shooting.
An initial police investigation found that Arisman Samoh, 35, had been driving the pickup with Nureeda as a passenger.
He had been queueing for some time to pass a nearby checkpoint when a vehicle tried to cut in front of his pickup.
Arisman told police that he had refused to let the vehicle go through the checkpoint ahead of him, which apparently enraged the other driver.
However, the queue-jumper managed to get to the front of the long line and, when both vehicles were someway past the checkpoint, someone in the other vehicle lowered a window and opened fire at Arisman’s pickup.
One of the bullets hit Nureeda in the arm before the vehicle sped away, he told police.
He did not set off in pursuit as he was carrying several passengers, including children, he said.
After reviewing video footage from a security camera, police identified the shooter’s vehicle as a bronze Mitsubishi Space Wagon.
It was carrying about three people, including the driver, they said.
