Former Thai MP arrested after shooting provincial official outside Nonthaburi office

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Rescue workers perform CPR on Thongchai Yenprasert, president of the Nonthaburi Provincial Administrative Organization, after he was shot at the organization's office in Nonthaburi, on the outskirts of Bangkok (Reuters) Reuters

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A former Thai lawmaker was arrested in Nonthaburi province after a shooting outside a local government office that killed the head of the provincial administrative organisation, according to The Independent. Police said two people were shot, including the senior official and his driver, and both were taken to hospital; the official later died. The suspect, identified by The Independent as Chalong Reawraeng, allegedly called a YouTuber who was livestreaming shortly after the attack to claim responsibility.

The shooting lands in a country already arguing about firearms after a separate school attack in the same province days earlier killed at least nine people, The Independent reports. Thailand formally requires separate licences to own and to carry guns and advertises tough penalties for violations, but the country also has the highest gun-ownership rate in Southeast Asia by a wide margin, a gap that shows up repeatedly whenever personal disputes spill into public spaces. In this case, the alleged target was not a rival gang figure but the president of a provincial administrative organisation — a post that sits close to budgets, contracts and local patronage, and where conflicts can be both personal and financial.

At a police station press conference, the suspect apologised to the victim’s family and described the dead official as a “good friend”, while also saying he was angry over money-related issues, according to The Independent. The report describes a relationship that had mixed past assistance, claims of financial distress and a confrontation at the victim’s office that escalated into gunfire. That sequence matters because it is the mundane version of political violence: not ideology, not insurgency, but a dispute over money and status playing out inside the machinery of local administration.

Thailand has seen repeated mass shootings in recent years, including attacks at schools and a major Bangkok mall, and a 2022 killing spree in the northeast that left dozens dead, The Independent notes. Each episode triggers renewed calls for tighter controls, while the practical question remains how weapons circulate and how quickly authorities can intervene when threats are visible in real time — including, in this case, via a livestream and a phone call to an online broadcaster. A system that can stage a press conference within hours still depends on preventing the next gun from being carried into the next argument.

Police said the victim was shot multiple times and died after being taken to hospital. The alleged shooter was in custody by the time he explained his motive to reporters.