Thailand: Ex-lawmaker arrested after shooting kills provincial official
A former Thai member of parliament allegedly opened fire at a local government office near Bangkok, killing the provincial administration's president. The suspect has been arrested.
A former Thai member of parliament was arrested on Monday after allegedly storming a government office in Nonthaburi province, on the outskirts of Bangkok, and opening fire.
Nonthaburi police chief Major Dejrapee Kongdee told Reuters that the gunman targeted a senior provincial officer and his driver. The Bangkok Post reported that Thongchai Yenprasert, president of the provincial administration, died as a result of the shooting.
According to reports, the suspect forced his way into the office at around 11 a.m. local time and fired several shots at Thongchai. Emergency responders performed CPR at the scene before rushing him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police subsequently arrested the suspected shooter.
Second shooting in a matter of days
The incident comes just days after a 14-year-old opened fire first at his home and then at Debsirin Nonthaburi School, killing nine people and injuring more than 20 others — Thailand's deadliest mass shooting in nearly four years.
Following that attack, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul reaffirmed plans to tighten the country's gun control laws. Current regulations do not require mental health screening for gun ownership and allow people as young as 20 to legally hold firearms.
A 2017 estimate by the Small Arms Survey put Thailand's gun ownership rate at around 15 firearms per 100 residents, by far the highest in Southeast Asia.
