18-year-old college student allegedly shot dead by his friend

An 18-year-old college student was allegedly shot dead by his friend in Venkatamangalam, 48 km south of Chennai on Tuesday after a suspected dispute over a mobile video game, police said

Police suspect the accused used a country-made pistol.The suspect Vijaya Kumar (23) and his friend K Mukesh Kumar – a second-year polytechnic course student at a private college near Chennai – had been playing a video game ahead of the shooting, police said.

‘Mukesh’s brother Udayakumar, who was standing outside their house in Venkatamangalam, heard the sound of a gun being fired in his house. He rushed into the house only to see his brother Mukesh in a pool of blood. Vijaya Kumar, who was playing a video game with Mukesh, ran away from the scene, carrying the pistol according to Uday. As the incident occurred while the duo was playing a mobile video game, we suspect that the murder could be due to a dispute about the game,’ said a police officer from Chennai’s Thalambur police station investigating the crime.Police did not say if there was anyone else in the house.

Vijaya Kumar is said to be a food delivery boy working with a well known online aggregator and is also said to be distantly related to the deceased.The police have not released details on what mobile video game the duo was playing. The investigating officer said that a bullet had hit Mukesh on the forehead.