Thai man mistakes friend for wild boar and shoots him dead

A Thai man shot dead his best friend in the forest in Lampang province in northern Thailand yesterday morning. Distraught, the gunman said he thought his friend was a wild boar.

At 7am, officers from Mae Tha Police Station were informed of a fatal shooting in the forest on the mountain in Wan Ngern subdistrict.

At the scene, officers found the body of 41 year old Wuthipong Somthong lying on his back in the forest wearing a camouflage long-sleeved shirt and blue jeans.

Wuthipong was shot once in the face with a shotgun, instantly killing him.

The deceased’s best friend, 37 year old Arampong, was found in a state of shock. He said he didn’t mean to shoot Wuthipong. At 3.30pm, the culprit was still crying and in a distraught state at the police station.

Arampong told police that Wuthipong invited him out to hunt in the forest last night. He said the pair hunted all night but only brought one firearm. In the morning, Wuthipong lent Arampong his shotgun.

At 5am, Arampong saw what he thought was a wild boar in the forest on the opposite side of the hill, so he fired a single shot.

He heard Wuthipong cry out in pain and ran over to find that he had shot his friend in the face.

Arampong said he tried to save Wuthipong by trying to stop blood loss and feeding him water, however, it was too late and Wuthipong died moments later.

Crying, the gunman said he cannot come to terms with what happened. He said he and the deceased have been close friends since childhood and regularly went out hunting together.

The perpetrator’s 67 year old sister Suda said she and her relatives were nearby when the incident happened. She heard her younger brother crying and ran into the forest to find him.

Suda said her younger brother was hitting himself in the head and scolding himself.

Suda said that villagers believe the shooting is a result of paranormal forces in the forest. She said that two days ago, several villagers dreamed that there would be a shooting on the mountain.

Many years ago, someone was killed in the same way just two kilometres away, said Suda.