Taxi driver arrested after viral video shows him threatening passenger with gun
The taxi driver was arrested after footage began doing the rounds on social media showing him holding a gun in a passenger's face
A taxi driver has been arrested after he was seen threatening a passenger with a gun.
Shocking footage has been doing the rounds over the past couple of days showing an unnamed man holding what appears to be a pistol in another man's face.
In the minute-long video, which is understood to have been filmed in County Down, Northern Ireland, the driver is seen threatening the passenger, telling him he needs to pay what he owes.
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Another man can also be seen sitting in the back seat, watching on as the bizarre incident unfolds.
“You are f***ing lucky i’m not taking your f***ing knees out in this f***ing car park son, because that’s the f***ing mood I’m in, believe me, I’m telling ya, see what happens in this car, see if you tell anyone about it, I will f***ing take your legs off," the driver says to the clearly distressed passenger.
He then clips the passenger in the face with the gun.
“Do you hear me right, this is the last of it son," he goes on. "You make up what you need to make up quickly, you whip your debt off, see next time I come up, I will be taking your f***ing leg off.
“Only because that’s my f***ing mate, and only because he is my mate, I would be taking your legs off, that’s it, it finishes here, I promise."
The lad in the back the says: “I’m shaking like a leaf here, mate."
To which the driver says: “I’m sorry for putting you in that situation."
After the video began circulating online, taxi company fonaCAB confirmed that it was 'dashcam footage' involving one of its drivers.
In a statement, the firm said that the incident did not take place during a 'passenger booking' and that the driver was 'logged off and was not working for fonaCAB at the time of the incident'.
“The driver was identified and called this morning to present at the earliest opportunity to fonaCAB head office, at which time he was interviewed and his relationship with fonaCAB immediately terminated," the statement read.
And now, the man in the video has been arrested, police have confirmed.
“Detectives investigating a video circulating online showing a man with a suspected firearm have arrested a 48-year-old man,” said a spokesperson for the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
“He has been arrested on suspicion of a number of offences including possession of a firearm or imitation firearm and he remains in custody at this time.”
The police force has also urged anyone with information about the incident to get in touch.
Dominic Smithers