Thai teenage boy accidentally shoots and kills friend near Bangkok

A 15 year old Thai boy confessed to accidentally shooting and killing his 14 year old friend while attempting to attack a rival group of teenagers on a road in Pathum Thani province near Bangkok.

The 14 year old boy was shot in the back of the head while riding a motorcycle with two friends on Liap Khlong Song Road in the Khlong Luang district of Pathum Thani province. Khlong Luang Police Station officers and medical professionals were called to the scene but the boy died before receiving treatment.

Officers harboured suspicions that the teenage boy might have been shot by a rival group of teenagers. Subsequently, they reviewed CCTV footage in an attempt to identify the assailants. The footage revealed three teenagers chasing a motorcycle owned by another group of boys on the street. Gunshots were heard, leading to the separation of the two groups of teenagers.

Upon careful analysis of the CCTV footage, officers deduced that the rival teenagers could not have been the gunmen, as the trajectory of the bullet contradicted their presence. The bullet struck the right side of the victim’s neck, whereas the rivals were situated on the left side while riding the motorcycle.

Officers questioned the victim’s friends until one of them, a 15 year old boy, admitted to being the gunman. The boy claimed that he shot his friend by mistake. He intended to threaten the rival group with his pen gun but it went off and hit his friend.

The gunman explained that he and the victim were passengers and another friend was the rider. While they were travelling on the road he noticed the rival group and attempted to threaten and attack them.

The teenage suspect faces three charges including:

• Section 7 of the Act on Firearms, Ammunition, Explosive, Fireworks, and Imitation Firearm: possessing a gun without permission. The punishment will be imprisonment for up to 10 years, a fine of up to 20,000 baht, or both.
• Section 8 of the Act on Firearms, Ammunition, Explosive, Fireworks, and Imitation Firearm: carrying a gun in a public place without permission and necessary. The punishment will be imprisonment for up to five years, a fine of up to 10,000 baht, or both.
• Section 291 of the Criminal Law: acting recklessly causing death. The punishment will be imprisonment for up to 10 years, a fine of up to 200,000 baht, or both.