The Metropolitan Police arrested 14 suspects today connected to a fatal shooting that killed a teacher and a student last month.
Police conducted search operations targeting 14 individuals in the areas of Bangkok, Pathum Thani, and Nonthaburi yesterday evening. One of the 14 suspects, Chananchit AKA “Pepsi,” was taken for questioning at the Metropolitan Police Bureau’s Investigation Division this morning.
Previously, Chananchit had visited a group of friends who were arrested at Bangkok’s Thung Maha Mek Police Station on Nov. 23. He also gave an interview to the media, saying that his arrested friends were made scapegoats in this case.
In addition, the police also arrested Napawut, who is believed to have played an important role on the day of the shooting. Napawut, whose wanted status was announced by police via Facebook, is believed to have aided the shooters in their escape and evasion of the police.
The 14 suspects are the second group to be arrested on warrants in this case, taking the total to 23 after police previously arrested nine people connected to the shooting.
Police said they found that the suspects are part of a larger gang of students that operate like a crime syndicate with over 80 members. The members consisted of former vocational school students who would rent houses together, according to investigation police chief Theeradej Thamsuthee.
Despite all the arrests so far, the actual shooter and his accomplice have yet to be identified.
It’s been over a month since the fateful shooting on Nov. 11, when two men on a motorcycle targeted Thanasorn Hongsawat, a first-year student at Rajamangala University of Technology Tawan-ok, Uthenthawai Campus. He was shot twice in the chest and once in the neck before being rushed to Chulalongkorn Hospital. He succumbed to his injuries eight days later.
During the shooting, a stray bullet hit and killed schoolteacher Sirada Sinprasert, known to students as Kru Jeab from Sacred Heart Convent School, who was queuing up at an ATM nearby.
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