Gunmen injure two Red Shirts in Pattaya

25 Apr 2011

Two anti-government activists were wounded in an assassination attempt last Thursday morning. The pair, Somchai Deesawad, 45, and 49-year-old Prajuab Sudkratoak, were targeted by two gunman on a motorcycle at Pattaya’s Sukhumvit Road-Soi Kow Tha Low crossroads.

Witnesses say the shooters arrived on a Yamaha motorcycle, which had had its license plate removed, stopped and shot five times at the two targets. The gunmen were described as being in their 20s and were not wearing crash helmets, and both had dark jackets on.

The bullets hit Khun Prajuab in his leg, while Khun Somchai was also hit in the leg and his stomach. The injured duo were taken to the Pattaya Memorial Hospital where the latter needed emergency treatment in the facility’s Intensive Care Unit.

The scene of the shooting has achieved a certain notoriety as it is the site of several anti-government protests by United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) supporters who are usually referred to as Red Shirts. The injured pair were at the site preparing it for a rally that was to take place on Saturday.

Although the shooting took place at a protest site and general elections are due soon, investigating police officers say they are keeping an open mind as to whether it was politically motivated or the result of a business or personal conflict.

Descriptions of one of the gunmen provided by witnesses have enabled officers to draught an Identikit image of him, which has been released to the local press.

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