Man who shot at two strangers in road rage incident jailed
A man who fired a gun at two pedestrians in a road rage incident has been jailed.
William Solhotra, 35, of London Road, Thornton Heath, was found with a loaded gun in his car, which was hidden in an Emporio Armani strap bag he was seen wearing only minutes before the incident.
He was jailed for 13 years and six months at Kingston Crown Court today, having been convicted at an earlier hearing of two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, and possession of ammunition.
He had also pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply Class A, B and C drugs.
CCTV cameras captured the incident, which happened in broad daylight at around 2.45pm on July 2, 2022 in Mitcham Lane, Thornton Heath.
Solhotra, in a silver BMW, got into an argument with two men who had just crossed the street, before he fired a shot at them. All three parties left the scene before police arrived.
When responding officers searched the scene they recovered a shell casing. There were no reported injuries following the incident.
CCTV footage of the shooting in Mitcham Lane (Video: The Met)
Specialist firearms officers stopped Solhotra as he was driving his car from the Crawley area back to London on 6 July.
Officers searched the vehicle and found the firearm inside his strap bag, while his phone work which was seized would place him at the scene.
He was arrested and taken into custody before being charged as above.
Detective Constable David Leend, investigator, said: “This scene unfolded in broad daylight on a summer’s day in front of scores of onlookers and motorists. Solhotra got into a dispute with the two men in a suspected road rage incident.
“He was in possession of a lethal weapon and thought nothing of firing at the two men, with absolutely no regard for them, or the other people who were going about their business.
“Despite extensive searches, including multiple hospital checks, those two men have never been identified.
“It is sheer luck that no one was injured, or worse; this could easily have been a very different investigation.”
Pictured top: William Solhotra and CCTV of William Solhotra on the day of the shooting (Picture: The Met)