Kabin Buri: Ice cream vendors fight, vendor gets angry and drives car to chase and shoot vendor, seriously injured, suspected motive is dissatisfaction with ice cream vendors selling on their land, competing for customers
According to Thai News Agency, CCTV footage and footage from a local's dashboard camera captured the moment a car tried to chase an ice cream truck. When the opportunity arose, the driver pursued the truck, rolled down the window, and fired a gun at the ice cream vendor, causing the vehicle to swerve and hit the offending vehicle and the guardrail, which resulted in the vendor falling out of the vehicle. The offender then drove away from the scene.
Last night at 8:30 p.m. (June 14, 2015), officers from Kabin Buri Police Station received a report from the radio center of the Satjaputtharam Rescue Foundation of Thailand (Kabin Buri) that an ice cream vendor had been shot with a gun and seriously injured in front of Kabin Chalermrat Park, Nong Pla Kaeng, Muang Kao Subdistrict, Kabin Buri District. Officers led a team of investigators to the location to investigate the incident.
The incident occurred on Suwannason Road (Kabin Buri - Sa Kaeo) near a public park called Suan Sukhapap. An ice cream truck with a sidecar was found parked at the scene, and the injured vendor was identified as Ms. Phatthanarin Chawli Saen, aged 49. She had been shot in the right armpit, with the bullet lodged inside her body, leaving her in a serious condition. Rescue workers urgently transported her to Kabin Buri Hospital for medical treatment.
From the initial investigation, it was learned that before the incident, the injured vendor had been selling ice cream at Kabin Chalermrat Park, where another vendor with a motorcycle and sidecar had also been operating. Witnesses reported seeing the two vendors arguing before Ms. Phatthanarin rode away. The other vendor, angry, pursued her in a sedan, shooting at her before fleeing the scene.
In the latest update, investigators from Kabin Buri Police Station successfully tracked down the perpetrator, identified as Mr. Sommai, aged 64, residing in Village 6, Bo Thong Subdistrict. He was arrested along with evidence, including a bronze-gold sedan used in the crime. The vehicle, showing a dent on the left rear door, was found parked in a grassy area at the end of a rice field, 200 meters from his house.
During questioning, Mr. Sommai confessed that prior to the incident, Ms. Phatthanarin had cursed and threatened him, accusing him of selling ice cream on her territory. She allegedly warned that if he continued, she would take action against him. Enraged by this confrontation, Mr. Sommai admitted to committing the crime, although he claimed he only intended to scare and teach her a lesson, not to kill her. He also revealed that after the shooting, he made a U-turn and discarded the gun by the roadside, expressing regret over his actions.
Initially, authorities have charged Mr. Sommai with carrying a firearm and ammunition in a public place and attempted murder, and he is now facing further legal action.