Disabled Man Shoots Som Tam Seller 14 Times in Ratchaburi
A 36-year-old disabled man in Ratchaburi shot a som tam vendor's daughter 14 times with a shotgun, leaving her seriously wounded. The gunman had a history of threatening behavior toward the vendor's family, who had previously moved and sought police mediation to no avail. The attacker fled home after the shooting and posted apparent farewell messages on social media.
In the case of Chawalit, 36, a left-leg amputee, who opened fire with a shotgun at Ms. Arathai, aka Joy, 35, the daughter of a som tam vendor, hitting her 14 times and causing serious wounds to her abdomen and left leg. The incident occurred in front of a som tam stall on Saeng Chuto Road in Ban Pong Municipality, Ratchaburi Province.
The latest update at 12:00 on November 13, 2026, reporters visited the scene and found relatives and friends of the victim, including Ms. Phueng, the stall owner and the victim's girlfriend. Bloodstains still marked the path where Ms. Arathai had run for her life, along with bullet holes in the shop sign and door frame.
The victims also presented Facebook posts from Chawalit that appeared to be farewell messages: "Apologies to everyone, love and respect always" and "Apologies to Mom and Pa, love and respect everyone always, someday we'll meet again."
Ms. Phueng described the terrifying moments: before the shooting, she and her niece were closing the stall to go home. Ms. Arathai was waiting on a motorcycle out front and called out asking where they were going. Moments later, gunshots rang out. When Ms. Phueng went to look, she saw Chawalit aiming and firing at her girlfriend, who threw down the bike and ran across the stall until she collapsed from exhaustion.
But Chawalit didn't stop. He walked after her and fired more shots into her left leg, then turned the barrel toward customers sitting nearby. Ms. Phueng and her niece could only hide inside the stall until the shooting stopped and the gunman walked back home, at which point they called police.
Ms. Phueng added that the two sides had a long-running dispute, but her side had always tried to keep the peace because they run a business and didn't want trouble, especially with neighbors. The gunman's family sells grilled fish, and the stall had kindly allowed them to sell to customers inside. Yet Chawalit's behavior was unpredictable — some days friendly, other days causing trouble, banging on walls and hurling abuse.
Eventually feeling unsafe, Ms. Phueng decided to buy a house elsewhere to end the problem. She had tried talking with the gunman's family and asked police to mediate several times, but nothing worked. She doesn't understand the real cause; if it's an old grudge from 10 years ago as Chawalit claims, it shouldn't have escalated to such extreme violence.
