SHOTS were fired when two gangs of youths clashed in Pattanakarn Soi 53 at 2 a.m. this morning (Nov. 13) leading to a 15-year-old teenage boy being shot dead, Amarin TV said.
Upon being alerted of the brawl in this soi close to Motorway’s entrance, Pol. Lt. Chakrath Thanawachirakorn, deputy inspector at Prawet police station, quickly rushed there together with forensic officers, Por Tek Tung Foundation rescuers and a doctor from Police Hospital.
At the scene they found the 11th grade teenager, Mr. Man (pseudonym), lying dead on the road close to the alley’s entrance with a fatal gunshot wound at the left eyebrow. Six bullet casings of two different sizes were found nearby.
Parked there were two motorcycles with one belonging to the dead teenager and the other to a member of the rival teenage gang.
Mr. Nott (pseudonym), 16, who just completed the ninth grade but has not started working, told police that his group has had a conflict with another teenage gang in Ramkhamhaeng Soi 60 for many years during which there were frequent fights and challenges over Facebook.
At a recent brawl a member of the rival gang was injured and had to be hospitalised. As revenge, the rival gang’s youths rode up close to the house of a senior member of their gang in this alley and flung ping-pong bombs for four nights in a row.
Last night 20 of them came again on 10 motorcycles and a pick-up truck and parked at the entrance of the alley with their senior member calling them to come and chase their rivals away.
Ten of them rode five motorcycles to this alley armed with knives and upon reaching a clash immediately ensued with the rival teenagers firing shots at them as well as throwing four to five ping-pong bombs in their direction leading to their friend being shot dead.
Police have taken members of the deceased teenager’s gang for questioning and have also seized the motorcycle left behind by the perpetrators as evidence in issuing arrest warrants for them.
Meanwhile police have yet to issue arrest warrants for two youths who rode up on a motorcycle then one of them fired shots at Rajamangala University of Technology Tawan-Ok Uthen Thawai Campus students on Sunthorn Kosa road, Khlong Toei district, with a stray bullet killing Sacred Heart Convent School computer science teacher, Ms. Sirada Sinprasert, 45, while pumping several shots at a 19-year-old freshman who is being treated at Chulalongkorn Hospital.
Pol. Col. Wittawat Chinkam, acting head of Metropolitan Police Division 5, told reporters that progress had been made in this case but as yet no arrest warrants could be issued.
All motives were being investigated, particularly rivalry between two institutions that could have dragged on for a long time.
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Top and Front Page: Police investigating the alley where the teenage boy was shot dead.
Insert: Ms. Sirada Sinprasert who was killed by a stray bullet fired by a motorcycle-riding youth on Saturday. Both photos: Amarin TV
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