In brief
Former Nonthaburi MP Chalong Reawraeng shot and killed a local official, then phoned the livestream host to confess the act. He claimed the shooting was accidental when confronted by the victim’s driver. The incident, occurring just days after a school shooting, fuels calls for stricter gun controls in a country with the highest gun ownership rate in Southeast Asia. The MP was later arrested and allowed to hold a press conference at a police station.
In a shocking turn of events, Chalong Reawraeng, the former Member of Parliament for Nonthaburi, admitted on a YouTube livestream that he shot and killed a local official.
\Reawraeng told the livestream host, political commentator Anchalee Paireerak, that he fired at Thongchai Yenprasert, a former police officer and president of the Nonthaburi Provincial Administrative Organisation, outside Yenprasert’s office.
\Yenprasert was struck in the neck and later died in hospital; his driver was wounded. Reawraeng claimed he had no intent to shoot, arguing he only pulled a weapon after the driver pointed a gun at him.
\Following the incident, Reawraeng was arrested but allowed to hold a press conference at a police station, where he explained that Yenprasert had reacted angrily after a personal dispute. He described the victim as a “good friend” and said the shooting was a defensive act.
\He first contacted the livestream host just before the shooting, pleading for a confession. Paireerak was seen reacting in shock as viewers watched the call unfold on screen.
\The gun violence erupted on a Sunday, merely three days after a 14‑year‑old boy opened fire on his home and school, killing seven before killing himself. Although the incidents are unrelated, both have intensified the debate over gun control in Thailand, which has the highest rate of gun ownership in South East Asia.
\Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has pledged stricter enforcement of gun laws, with plans to establish checkpoints and tighten controls on the possession, carrying and use of firearms.
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