The incident occurred in Krabi where a younger brother, driven to desperation, shot his elder brother dead inside their home after the elder, in a drug-induced rage, held a gun intending to shoot their father but was fortunately saved by a defective bullet. After the shooting, the younger brother waited to surrender, while their mother was so shocked she had to be hospitalized.
At 05:00 on 24 Aug, Police Lieutenant Thirawut Chuejak, a detective at Plai Phraya Police Station, Krabi, received a report of a fatal shooting in front of a house in Kiriwong Subdistrict. Upon notification, he informed his superiors and, accompanied by Police Colonel Narong Laksanawimon, chief of Plai Phraya Police Station, the investigation team, and forensic officials from Krabi, proceeded to the scene.
The scene was a single-story house with a yard. In front of the house lay the deceased, identified as Mr. Bamrung (surname withheld), 39, the homeowner’s son. He had been shot with a shotgun, with one pellet hitting the left rib area and another in the chest. On his body, police found a plastic bag containing 12 methamphetamine pills in his pants pocket. Nearby was a .22 caliber rifle belonging to the deceased, loaded with matching ammunition.
The suspect was identified as Mr. Piyapong, 32, the deceased’s younger brother. After the incident, he sat waiting to surrender to police in front of the house, holding the improvised short shotgun used in the shooting, along with two spent shells. Police then took him into custody for questioning at Plai Phraya Police Station.
Initially, the suspect confessed that the incident occurred shortly after midnight. He stated he shot his elder brother because the brother was under the influence of drugs, acting irrationally and violently. The brother had fired a gun at their 63-year-old father but was saved when the bullet was defective. The suspect tried to intervene and urged his brother to put down the weapon, but the brother refused, reloading and seemingly aiming to shoot him. In self-defense, he fired one shot causing his brother to fall, then fired a second shot until the brother was motionless. Afterwards, overwhelmed, he sat with relatives for hours, covered the brother’s body with a blanket, and then decided to notify police and surrender.
Police have initially charged him with murder and illegal possession of a firearm. He remains in custody at Plai Phraya Police Station pending further legal proceedings.
The father of both men recounted that before the incident, upon returning from errands, he saw his eldest son acting violently, holding a gun. When the father reprimanded him, the son did not stop and fired once at him, but the bullet was defective. Another son intervened, trying unsuccessfully to wrest the gun away. When the eldest son attempted another shot, the younger brother fired, killing him. The father, in shock, could not speak as both his sons were involved—one dead, one arrested. Meanwhile, his wife, who was ill, was so shocked she had to be hospitalized. The father admitted the deceased had been using drugs for years and often displayed violent behavior but never to this extreme.
The deceased had previously graduated with a degree and had a good job but fell into drug abuse. The younger brother, who cared for their parents and ran a motorcycle repair shop after leaving his job, now faces this tragic event. He appealed to the government to decisively tackle the drug problem, as drugs were the root cause of this tragedy.