Former Thai lawmaker held after fatal Nonthaburi office shooting

A former lawmaker was arrested after allegedly shooting the head of a Nonthaburi government body outside Bangkok. The killing, days after a school massacre in the same province, has deepened alarm over gun violence in Thailand.

In Short

• Police said the suspect confessed and cited a personal financial dispute
• The organisation chief died in hospital after being shot in face
• His driver suffered an arm injury and remains in stable condition

A man was arrested after a shooting at a government office outside Bangkok on Monday left one person dead and another injured, officials said. The incident came just days after a 14-year-old student allegedly opened fire at his school and family home in the same province, killing at least eight people.

The shooting took place at around 11 am at the offices of the Nonthaburi Provincial Administrative Organisation, according to the provincial public relations department. The suspect was identified as Chalong Riewraeng, a former lawmaker.

Thongchai Yenprasert, chief executive of the organisation and the person police believe was the target, died at hospital after being shot in the face and neck. His driver was shot in the arm and is in stable condition, officials said.

Regional police commander Wattana Yeejeen said the suspect had admitted to the shooting and that the motive was believed to be personal. Chalong later told reporters at a local police station that he had argued with Thongchai over money he had lent him, and said he followed him to his car before pulling out a weapon.

Chalong said he had not intended to shoot Thongchai, but claimed the driver also pulled out a gun and pointed it at him, prompting him to open fire. “I wanted to apologise to the people of Nonthaburi,” he said. “I had no intention. We were friends and I thought we could talk it out, but he wouldn’t talk to me.”

The shooting drew added attention because it happened only days after a 14-year-old student allegedly killed at least eight people in Nonthaburi on Friday before apparently taking his own life. Officials said a 12-year-old schoolgirl and five members of staff were killed at Debsirin Nonthaburi School, while the boy also appeared to have killed his two grandparents at his family home earlier that morning.

Atthapol Anusit, deputy regional police commander, said on Sunday that police had spoken to several witnesses but had not yet established a motive for that attack. He said the boy appeared to have been facing several problems linked to his family and school. Police also found from his electronic devices that he had consumed violent material on social media and had a search history showing an interest in firearms going back about one to two years. Witnesses told police that the boy had brought a BB gun to school last year, and that it was later confiscated by a teacher, he said.

Thailand has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in Asia, second only to Pakistan and much higher than its Southeast Asian neighbours. Data collected in 2017 by Small Arms Survey and GunPolicy.org found civilian gun ownership in Thailand was about 15.1 guns per 100 people, compared with less than one per 100 in neighbouring Malaysia. According to 2023 statistics published by World Population Review, Thailand had 3.49 firearm deaths per 100,000 people, a relatively high rate in Asia, with only the Philippines higher in Southeast Asia.

While mass shootings are not common in Thailand, the country has seen a rise in high-profile gun violence in recent years. In February, a 17-year-old stole a gun from police and opened fire at a public high school in southern Thailand, briefly taking people hostage in a two-hour attack that killed one person and injured two others. A 14-year-old boy was also accused in a 2023 shooting at a major Bangkok shopping mall. Monday’s shooting in Nonthaburi has added to concerns after two deadly gun attacks in the province within days.

With PTI Inputs

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