A gunman opened fire with a shotgun at a local street festival in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Dan Khun Thot district late Wednesday night, injuring six people, several of them severely.
The incident occurred at approximately 10.30pm during the ‘Chim Shop Chai’ fair, being held in front of the Pho Khun Thod Monument. Police were dispatched to the scene and managed to apprehend one suspect shortly after the shooting.
Rescue workers from the ‘Hook 31 Foundation’ rushed the injured victims to Luangpor Khoon Parisutho Hospital. Those with life-threatening injuries were subsequently transferred to Maharat Nakhon Ratchasima Hospital for specialised care.
According to event organiser ‘Prakob’, the shooting erupted just as vendors were packing up their stalls for the night. A group of assailants launched an attack with knives and fired a handmade shotgun, the pellets from which spread wide and struck bystanders and merchants in the area.
Preliminary police investigations have revealed that the altercation began when a group of suspects attempted to steal a parked motorcycle. The owner caught them in the act and confronted them, prompting Prakob and bystanders to step in and assist in restraining one of the thieves.
One of the suspects managed to break free, fled the scene and returned with a group of friends armed with knives and a firearm, opening fire on the crowd in retaliation before fleeing.
Officers from Dan Khun Thot Police Station have taken the primary suspect into custody.
Forensic specialists are conducting gunpowder residue tests, while investigators launch a manhunt for the accomplices.
