Six Teenagers Arrested After Drive-By Shooting Injures Two
Two youths were shot and seriously injured in a drive-by attack in Surin province, with police arresting six teenagers from rival groups who admitted to staging an ambush over a long-standing dispute.
A shooting attack in Surin province left two youths seriously wounded on Saphan Huay Road between Nong Ku and Jan Wane villages in Nong Waeng subdistrict, Sri Nong district, Surin province. Police from Sri Nong Station arrested six suspects and are pursuing charges of attempted murder, illegal firearm possession, and unauthorized shooting in a public place.
Police found the two victims, a young boy and a 17-year-old, suffering from gunshot wounds. The boy was hit in the torso with embedded bullet fragments, while the teenager sustained lung damage and a broken left arm. Both were rushed to Surin Hospital for emergency surgery.
The six suspects, all teenagers from Samrong village in Jan Wane subdistrict, are aged 18 and younger. Officers seized two shotguns—a long-barrel model and a short-barrel Thai-made weapon—along with 12 rounds of ammunition.
During interrogation, suspect A confessed that the shooting stemmed from a long-standing dispute between rival groups. He said that before the incident, his group noticed their rivals posting images of guns and ammunition on Instagram in a challenging manner. When they learned the rivals were heading into their area, the group set up an ambush near Jan Wane bridge and opened fire as the rivals' vehicle passed.
A 16-year-old girl dismissed rumors that she had lured her ex-boyfriend into a trap for her new boyfriend to shoot. She admitted to messaging her ex but said the shooting was the result of deep-rooted personal conflict between the two teenage groups.
All six suspects are now in police custody. They have been brought to the crime scene to reconstruct events and will face legal proceedings.
