PUBLISHED : 19 Dec 2023 at 13:13
A 20-year-old man suspected of shooting dead a vocational student and a female teacher near separate schools in Klong Toey district on Nov 11 was arrested while camping in the northern province of Chiang Mai on Tuesday morning, according to a source.
Anawin Kaewkeb, the suspected gunman, was caught while hiding at Hmong Doi Pui Tribal Village in tambon Suthep of Muang district, Chiang Mai, and detectives were bringing him in for interrogation at the Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB).
During the Nov 11 shooting, Mr Anawin was a pillion rider who dismounted his motorcycle to shoot Thanasorn Hongsawat, a 19-year-old first-year student of the Rajamangala University of Technology Tawan-ok Uthenthawai Campus. A stray bullet also killed Sirada Sinprasert, a 45-year-old computer teacher at Sacred Heart Convent School, who was withdrawing money from a sidewalk ATM at the time.
The arrest of Mr Anawin followed the apprehension of 12 other suspects in the same case during multiple raids in Bangkok, Nonthaburi and Samut Prakan on Monday.
The drive-by shooting was initially perceived as a payback stemming from a feud between students from rival vocational schools, with the teacher as collateral damage.
A deeper investigation by the MPB found out that the shooter and his partner, who drove the motorcycle used in the shooting, were part of a crime syndicate comprising at least 84 members.
On Nov 13, people lay flowers near an ATM machine where a teacher was killed by a stray bullet on Nov 11 in Klong Toey district, Bangkok. (Photo: Chanat Katanyu)