Thai soldier arrested after shooting construction worker at school
A Thai soldier shot a construction worker at a school in the Isaan province of Chaiyaphum, after a long-standing feud with his colleagues. Fortunately, no teachers and students were armed by the random shooting.
Teachers and students ran for safety, at the school in the Mueang district of Chaiyaphum province, after hearing gunfire yesterday, October 8, as the 24 year old construction worker, Teeradon, was installing a glass window.
Teeradon sought assistance from his colleagues, shouting that he had been shot before collapsing to the ground. His colleagues and the teachers immediately called officers from Mueang Chaiyaphum Police Station and a medical team to the scene.
Police later identified the gunman as a 35 year old soldier, Sergeant Palangrath, who lived near the school. He had recently returned from Thailand’s Deep South provinces.
For the safety of the public, police urged locals, students, and teachers to remain indoors while they tried to arrest the soldier. They planned their approach carefully, as Palangrath was a trained and skilled officer with experience in conflict zones.
Police were uncertain of how many weapons Palangrath had in his possession, so they tried to persuade him to surrender. Officers used Palangrath’s grandmother to try and convince him to turn himself in but this proved unsuccessful.
Drug use suspected
As a result, 20 additional police officers were called to the scene to surround Palangrath’s home. They decided to use a taser to subdue Palangrath and were able to arrest him successfully.
Upon searching Palangrath’s home, police found a large cache of weapons in his possession, including two pistols, two rifles, gun cameras, silencers, over 300 rounds of ammunition, and three bulletproof vests.
During questioning, Palangrath confessed to using a CZ-455 rifle to shoot the victim. He claimed he did not know the victim personally and had never had any conflict with him but had previously argued with the victim’s colleagues.
Officers reported that Palangrath gave confused information during questioning, suggesting he might have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol. He also confessed that he had been suspended from duty for over two years after being accused of involvement in drugs and physical altercations, which he denied.
Palangrath further explained that he had argued with his wife and this escalated into a physical altercation. He claimed that stress from both work and family issues had led to the shooting.
Police have not yet revealed the charges or punishment that will be brought against Palangrath.
