Displaying a profound misunderstanding of the intent and function of a hospital, 10 members of a bike gang snuck into Rama II Hospital this weekend and opened fire on a suspected rival as he lay recuperating from an earlier gunshot wound.
The retaliation strike stemmed from an encounter that took place earlier in the evening, when Jarutat Kamolmaharumi, a 24-year-old emergency worker, tried to break up a brawl between two rival youth gangs.
Jarutat fled the scene after hearing gunshots, but the gang members weren’t ready to let him off so easily. Assuming he was in cahoots with a rival gang, several of the youths pursued Jarutat, firing at his truck and eventually wounding one of his passengers—17-year-old Sumitra Achitanaboon.
The gang continued to pursue Jarutat and Sumitra, first to Bangkok 8 hospital, then to Rama II Hospital, where the second shootout occurred. A young woman was seriously injured in the fracas, though the early morning hour meant that the hospital was sparsely populated, keeping collateral damage to a minimum.
The Bangkok Post has reported that Sumitra remains in intensive care. Pol Maj Gen Manit Wongsomboon has vowed to bring the shooters to justice.
