A 36-year-old man pulled out a gun to show while parked in front of Chachoengsao Provincial Court. A good Samaritan quickly notified highway police to investigate. The man then sped away, brandished a long gun, and fired shots, injuring two people. His vehicle was eventually found in a pond. A drone search is underway but he has not yet been found.
At 16:00 on 2 Mar 2016, the Chachoengsao City Police Radio Center received a report to intercept a white Isuzu MU-X SUV registered in Chonburi, missing a rear license plate. Highway police had requested to search the vehicle parked outside Chachoengsao Provincial Court after a good Samaritan reported the owner brandished a firearm. When police approached to inspect, the vehicle fled along Maha Chakkraphat Road, then turned back under the Kasemrat intersection bridge, prompting highway police to block its path.
The man inside the vehicle, later identified as Mr. Premnupong Panomsing, 36, pulled out a long gun and a handgun and fired at police officers. Corporal Anusorn Engpangsri, 36, a highway police officer with vehicle code 3108, was shot in the right temple. A local man riding a black Honda Wave motorcycle, Mr. Thaksin Charoenchai, 29, was shot in the coccyx. Authorities found dozens of 7.62mm rounds from the long gun and 9mm rounds scattered at the scene.
Mr. Siri Saing, 46, a vendor nearby, said he was sitting by his vehicle using his mobile phone when he saw the white SUV brandish a long gun and fire several dozen shots at highway police, causing loud gunfire. He and his wife immediately jumped to the roadside for safety. After the shooting stopped, they saw the white SUV drive away.
After the incident, Police Colonel Somchai Yusawat, Deputy Commander of Chachoengsao Provincial Police, and Police Colonel Pongsan Meesri, Superintendent of Mueang Chachoengsao Police Station, ordered investigative and patrol units to seal off the city. They later found the suspect’s vehicle had lost control and fallen into a pond in Soi Ban Don Kha, Village No.1, Bang Toei Subdistrict, Mueang Chachoengsao District, about 15 kilometers from the scene. The Chachoengsao Provincial Special Operations Unit (NSP) was deployed with drones to inspect and surround the area. Locals reported seeing a suspicious man near Bang Toei railway station. Another NSP team used drones and conducted foot searches of the nearby forest. As of 19:00, the suspect remains at large.
Initially, police have contacted the suspect's parents, who live in Phanom Sarakham District, urging them to try to persuade their son to surrender as soon as possible.
