Laos allgemein - Four killed in gun attack phaxai - Mi 12 Mai, 2010 05:31 Titel: Four killed in gun attack
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Four killed in gun attack
Four people were shot dead in a gun attack on Monday morning in Vientiane's Don Noun village in Xaythany district, police said on Tuesday.
Three of the victims died instantly as they sat in a pick-up truck, while the wounded driver was killed in a nearby rice paddy as he tried to escape the deadly attack.
The incident occurred at around 10am as the four victims, including two women, drove their pick-up truck out of a side road in Don Noun village towards Kaysone Phomvihane Road.
But the vehicle was blocked in by another pick-up and sprayed with gunfire from an AK 47 rifle at close range.
The killers escaped the scene in the direction of the city centre, and police are currently carrying out a manhunt to capture them.
Witnesses said they saw a vehicle block the side road with three men wearing helmets sitting in the back. One produced a rifle and opened fire shortly after the arrival of the victims' truck.
The driver was shot twice in the chest and back, escaping the truck to seek help before being chased into the field and shot dead.
The cause of the incident is unclear, but police suspect it could be linked to drug dealing, probably involving methamphetamine (yabaa).
The male victims are Mr Oum from Saphangmor village in Xaysettha district and Mr Buathong from Na Hay village in Hadxaifong district, both in Vientiane, according to Vientiane Police Headquarters Chief Colonel Bounthieng Chanthamongkhon.
They were both aged about 30. The two women who were killed were their girlfriends.
“Our officers saw two AK47s in the victims' truck as well as two shotguns, three grenades and some yabaa,” Colonel Bounthieng said.
“But evidently they didn't have an opportunity to use their weapons during the attack.”
“We assume that their dispute was associated with market share in the drugs trade,” he said.
The two male victims were wanted by police on suspicion of committing several crimes in recent years, including the murder of a man in Sikhay village, Sikhottabong district, earlier this year.
They had also committed petty theft such as bag snatching and stealing motorcycles, money and other personal property.
“We believe the dead men had committed several crimes but we were never able to arrest them,” Colonel Bounthieng said.
Witnesses described the killers as highly aggressive as they opened fire on the victims in the village centre in broad daylight, amid many passersby. Neither of the trucks involved in the incident had number plates.
The incident has become a hot topic in Vientiane, having caused widespread public fear over security in the capital.