A former Thai MP allegedly shot dead a local official in the province of Nonthaburi, then dialed into a YouTube livestream to confess to a political pundit, reports infohub.kz.
Former MP Chalong Riewrang told the shocked host, Anchalee Paireerak, that he had shot Thongchai Yenprasert, a former police official, outside Thongchai's office. Thongchai, hit in the neck, died in hospital. His driver was wounded in the arm and hand.
Chalong was arrested but allowed to hold a press conference at a police station, where he smoked a cigarette and said Thongchai was "angry" at him, without explaining why. He also said he did not intend to shoot Thongchai, whom he described as a "good friend".
Chalong said he told Thongchai he wanted to talk. According to local media, the two had a personal dispute. "He pushed me, saying 'I don't want to talk, I don't want to talk,'" Chalong said. He then followed Thongchai to his car. "When I pulled the gun out, I didn't intend to shoot him. But then his driver pulled his gun and pointed it at me, so I fired."
Thongchai, a retired police colonel, was president of the Nonthaburi Provincial Administrative Organisation (PAO), a local government body.
Earlier, Chalong had called political commentator Anchalee Paireerak, who was livestreaming on YouTube, to confess. In the video, Anchalee picks up the call: "I'll call you back... Oh, something big? Go ahead, what's that?" Viewers couldn't hear the caller, but Anchalee reacted in shock: "Did he die? Did he die? You shot him in the head? Wait there for the cops. Don't go anywhere."
Monday's shooting came three days after a 14-year-old boy killed seven people at his home and school, then himself, in Thailand's worst mass shooting since 2022. The two attacks are unrelated.
The latest shooting will further spur debate on gun control in Thailand, which has the highest gun ownership rate in Southeast Asia. After Friday's school shooting, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul ordered stricter enforcement of gun laws and police checkpoints. Other measures include tightening controls on possession, carrying, and use of firearms.