Authorities in Thailand said officers have arrested a former lawmaker accused of storming a government office building and fatally shooting an official Monday morning. Image courtesy of UPI
Aug. 10 (UPI) — A former lawmaker from Nonthaburi province, which is still reeling from last week’s school shooting, was arrested Monday after allegedly storming a local government office and shooting a local administrator dead, according to local reports.
The alleged gunman has been identified by police as former Nonthaburi MP Chalong Riewraeng and the victim as Pol. Col. Thongchai Yenprasert, president of the Nonthaburi Provincial Administrative Organization, the Bangkok Post reported.
The shooting reportedly occurred at about 11 a.m. local time at Yenprasert’s office in Mueang, the provincial capital district just north of Bangkok, The Nation reported.
Officers arrived at the scene to find Yenprasert and his driver suffering from gunshot wounds. Both were transported to Pranangklao Hospital where Yenprasert later died.
Police said Riewraeng called a TV anchor mid-broadcast and admitted to firing five shots at Yenprasert, the Bangkok Post reported.
The shooting comes days after a 14-year-old student allegedly killed eight people and wounded more than 30 others at Debsirin Secondary School, just outside downtown Bangkok in Nonthaburi, before turning the weapon on himself.
This is a developing story.
