BANGKOK: Police in Thailand's resort area of Phuket province on Wednesday reported that an Australian man shot and wounded two German tourists after they had become embroiled in an argument. Police told Bikyanews.com they had arrested the Australian man. According to reports, the incident occurred near a night entertainment quarter packed with tourists. Police sent to the scene discovered as they arrived that the two victims had already been taken to hospital. They were later identified as Johann Baschenegger and Joseph Werner. Werner was shot in the right arm and was reportedly in critical condition. Baschenegger was also hit in the right arm by a bullet from a pistol of unknown calibre. The gunman was described as a large Westerner who fled the scene after the shooting, which turned out to be an Australian. Baschenegger had arrived in Phuket the night before. Investigators believe that he was mistakenly shot and are reviewing footage from surrounding CCTV cameras. According to the latest report, the shooter is now in police custody. He is reported to be an Australian man who attempted to shoot a Dane over a business dispute, but unintentionally hit the two Germans. According to another report, police were told that there was an argument about payment for a motorcycle by two Westerners and one of them fired a gun but he missed the intended target. BN
