A former Thai MP shot a local government official on Monday, then dialled into a YouTube show to inform presenters of what he’d done.
Chalong Reawraeng, a former lawmaker for the province of Nonthaburi, has been arrested, according to police. His victim, Thongchai Yenprasert, is the president of the Nonthaburi Provincial Administrative Organisation.
Thongchai has been hospitalised along with his driver, who was also shot. Several reports say they are “seriously injured”.
The incident comes just a few days after another shooting in the same province, when a teenage boy killed seven people at his home and school, then killed himself, in Thailand’s worst mass shooting since 2022.
There does not appear to be any link between the two attacks.
We’ll bring you the latest updates as we get them.
‘Did he die? You need to wait for the police,’ YouTuber tells Chalong while livestreaming
Chalong declared that he had carried out the attack in a phone call to a well-known political commentator, who was livestreaming on YouTube at the time.
The presenter, former journalist Anchalee Paireerak, was filmed picking up a call midway through her programme.
“I’ll call you back… Oh, something big [happened]? Go ahead, what’s that?” she says.
Viewers cannot hear what the caller says next, but Anchalee is seen reacting in shock.
“Did he die? Did he die? You shot him in the head? You need to wait there for the cops,” she says. “Don’t go anywhere.”
Chalong’s motives remain unknown, with police investigations ongoing. The former MP reportedly told journalists while being apprehended that he was upset Thongchai did not accede to a favour he requested.