BANGKOK: Police arrested a former member of Thailand’s parliament on Monday (Aug 10) for allegedly shooting and wounding a local government official and his driver.
The alleged attack in Nonthaburi province north of Bangkok came days after a school shooting in the same region that raised questions over gun control in Thailand.
Former local MP Chalong Riewrang was arrested and taken to the police station, Nonthaburi police chief Dejrapee Kongdee told AFP.
“We are investigating him in regard to his motive. The two who were shot are being treated at a hospital,” he said.
One of them, the chairman of the Nonthaburi local government administration, was “seriously injured”, the police chief said.
The other was his driver, he said, without providing details of his condition.
Local media said a private dispute may have been the cause of the alleged shooting but the police chief declined to comment.
Chalong was formerly a member of Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s party.
On Friday, a 14-year-old boy shot dead the grandparents who raised him in Nonthaburi before killing six others at his school and then turning the gun on himself.
Thailand has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the region, with around 10 million firearms estimated to be in circulation – roughly one for every seven inhabitants.
Officials have promised stricter gun laws since Friday’s shooting, but previous pledges have failed to prevent repeated shootings.
Discover more from PressNewsAgency
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.