Two assailants ambushed and shot a villager in Cho-airong district, Narathiwat province, seriously injuring one person while he was driving home after dropping off his wife at a market. The attack is believed to aim at spreading fear and unrest in the area due to its brazen nature and timing.
At 06:00 on 16 Jun 2026, Police Lieutenant Abdul Goffar Hami, deputy investigating officer of Cho-airong Police Station, Narathiwat province, received a report of a shooting at the three-way intersection leading to Pihelang East village, Mu 10, Marubo-ok subdistrict. He informed his superiors and, together with Police Colonel Direk Chomyong, deputy commander of Narathiwat Provincial Police, Police Colonel Narin Choisuk, chief of Cho-airong Police Station, bomb disposal unit, Narathiwat forensic team, and several police and military personnel, proceeded to the scene to investigate.
At the three-way junction entering Pihelang East alley, large trees stood on the left side opposite the road leading to house number 185. Authorities found broken glass fragments but did not find any bullet casings used by the assailants.
A bronze Toyota Vios sedan with Bangkok license plates was parked on the roadside in front of the Pihelang Cooperative Market, about 400 meters from the shooting site. The car had bullet marks on the edge of the windshield opposite the driver, a bullet hole on the door frame, and another hole on the rear left door glass. Blood stains were found on the driver's seat. Officials collected these as evidence.
The injured, Mr. Manop, 67, a local resident of Mu 10, Marubo-ok subdistrict, Cho-airong district, was taken to Cho-airong Hospital by good Samaritans. He had three gunshot wounds to his left ribs and left arm. After initial treatment, he was transferred to Narathiwat Rajanagarindra Hospital for further care.
Investigation revealed that before the incident, Mr. Manop drove from home with his wife as a passenger to drop her off at the Pihelang Cooperative Market, where she regularly sells ready-made food such as curry packets every Tuesday. After helping her arrange her goods on the stall, he started driving back home.
At the scene, a three-way junction about 50 meters from his home, two assailants on a motorcycle waited under a large roadside tree. As Mr. Manop approached the turn to his home, one assailant got off holding a handgun of unknown caliber and fired four shots, hitting Mr. Manop three times. The assailants then fled on their motorcycle. Despite his injuries, Mr. Manop managed to drive to the market to seek help, where villagers assisted and sent him to hospital.
Ms. Phongsri, 80, Mr. Manop’s elder sister who sells food at a stall nearby, said that after Mr. Manop dropped off his wife and helped set up the stall, he drove home. She saw him pull up and call for help, shouting that he had been shot. Villagers then helped send him to the hospital.
Authorities initially suspect the attack was carried out by members of an insurgent group aiming to assassinate local villagers to instill fear and unrest. Nonetheless, investigations continue to determine the precise motive, as the victim has no other business activities beyond assisting his wife at the market.