Video: https://www.dropbox.com/s/aqkozc5k9wp5aiv/VRP51865.mp4?dl=0
A bitcoin trader was arrested after allegedly shooting his friend in a gun rampage.
Daeshonchot Junpuan, 23, allegedly pulled over in front of a convenience store before firing a short-barreled rifle multiple times towards a man in Chiang Mai province, northern Thailand on August 6.
Onlookers fled from the scene as the injured man, later identified to be Pattaranit Singkhwan, 23, collapsed to the ground while the bitcoin trader sped off on his black BMW to escape.
Rescue volunteers rushed the man to the hospital while police traced the suspected shooter’s car to a luxury house where he was arrested while wearing a bullet-proof vest. Officers said they had not recovered the 9mm calibre weapon.
Police captain Pichapop Cheyyai said: ‘We searched for the gun but it was not in the house. Daeshonchot told us that after the incident, he threw it in the village reservoir. We will be working with the divers to locate it as it is important evidence.’
Authorities have filed charges of attempted murder, possession of firearms and ammunition, and damage to property for hitting parked vehicles with gunshots, against the rich bitcoin trader.
The injured man, who was having dinner with his girlfriend when the shooting happened, had critical gunshot wounds near his ribcage but he is now in stable condition.
Police are still investigating the case including the shooter’s motive but the two allegedly had misunderstandings involving money they had been investing in the controversial cyrptocurrency.
Bitcoin was at first used as a form of untraceable currency on the ‘dark web’ but in recent years has been adopted by institutional and retail investors, causing its apparent value to rise.