Australian Girl Shot In The Neck

[stumonster]

Nurse shot in neck in drive-by

From correspondents in Thailand

June 19, 2006

A BRISBANE woman is in intensive care in Thailand after being hit in the neck in a drive-by shooting.

Pam Fitzpatrick, 26, of Springwood was wounded when three shots were fired into a crowded bar in Kanchanaburi, about 130km west of Bangkok early today.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) tonight confirmed the shooting, saying Ms Fitzpatrick, a nurse, had been "seriously injured".

"Thai police are investigating the incident and a consular officer from the Australian embassy in Bangkok travelled to Kanchanaburi to assist the woman," a spokesman said.

"She has since been admitted to hospital in Bangkok."

Channel 9 reported Ms Fitzpatrick had been in Thailand just 24 hours after being reunited with younger sister Jenny, who was returning from Europe.

Waratora Jiamjai, a friend of Ms Fitzpatrick, said they were at the bar when two men approached on a motorbike.

"I heard bang, bang, bang ... and then I saw the guys on the motorbike," she told Nine.

"We saw Pam was laying on the floor with her blood on the floor."

Ms Jiamjai believed her friend was the innocent victim of a local feud involving the bar's owner.

Story continued here

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story...47-1702,00.html

[Donz]

she'll be right

[Sing_Sling]

she'll be right

. . . love/mate.

[Boo]

lets hope she makes a speedy recovery.

[meadish_sweetball]

For sure. Seems to be too many people ready to use their guns in old muang Kan.

[sriracha john]

another young visitor shot in Kanchanaburi...

another act of unexpected violence...

Get well soon, Pam...

[lung]

sorry ... she .. (it's to late)...

Edited June 19, 2006 by lung

[Kan Win]

Sad really, if it is ture……………

Yours truly,

Kan Win

Edited June 19, 2006 by Kan Win

[britmaveric]

Hope the young lady recovers quickly and back to peak form. Just bad luck - being in the wrong spot at the wrong time.

[astral]

Are we sure the cop IS locked up?

[Dario]

This report appeared in "The Sydney Morning Herald":

Intensive care: Australian shot in neck in Thailand

Pam Fitzpatrick, 26, of Springwood was wounded when three shots were fired into a crowded bar in Kanchanaburi, about 130 kilometres west of Bangkok early today.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) tonight confirmed the shooting, saying Ms Fitzpatrick, a nurse, had been "seriously injured".

"Thai police are investigating the incident and a consular officer from the Australian embassy in Bangkok travelled to Kanchanaburi to assist the woman," a spokesman said.

"She has since been admitted to hospital in Bangkok."

The Nine Network reported Ms Fitzpatrick had been in Thailand just 24 hours after being reunited with younger sister Jenny, who was returning from Europe.

Waratora Jiamjai, a friend of Ms Fitzpatrick, said they were at the bar when two men approached on a motorbike.

"I heard bang, bang, bang ... and then I saw the guys on the motorbike," she told the Nine Network.

"We saw Pam was laying on the floor with her blood on the floor."

Ms Jiamjai believed her friend was the innocent victim of a local feud involving the bar's owner.

Ms Fitzpatrick's father Kevin Fitzpatrick said his daughter had been shot in the back of the neck with a "random bullet".

He said his other daughter Jenny rang and alerted him to the incident about 6am (AEST) today.

"It was devastating because (I) couldn't believe something like that would happen," he said.

The trip was Ms Fitzpatrick's second in three years to the area.

Mr Fitzpatrick said he would wait on advice from Australian officials before deciding whether to go to Thailand to bring his daughter home.

"As soon as I know what's happening I can make a decision to go there or not go there, or whatever," he said. "I just don't know what's the best."

The DFAT spokesman said officials were providing support for the Fitzpatrick family in Brisbane.

AAP

But nothing in the Bangkok Post or The Nation, otherwise their editors would probably get handcuffed ...

Edited June 19, 2006 by Dario

[penzman]

Ban guns and lock up those caught in possession afterwards.

[jdinasia]

what bar was it?

[sriracha john]

Additional information.... Her condition sounds very bad...

Aussie nurse shot in Thai bar

A young Queensland woman's dream holiday has been shattered after she was left in a coma following a drive-by shooting in Thailand early yesterday.

Pam Fitzpatrick, 26, a nurse from Springwood, south of Brisbane, had just reunited with her younger sister Jenny on Friday before she was gunned down at a bar in Kanchanaburi near the Thai capital Bangkok.

Her distraught father Kevin said it appeared she was in the wrong place at the wrong time when two men on a motorbike sped past the bar, firing three shots into it.

"She was taken on a three-hour trip by ambulance to Bangkok Hospital and is in ICU (intensive care) for assessment," Mr Fitzpatrick said last night. "I'm told a bullet went in through the back of her neck and has severely damaged her spine and the back of her skull. It appears to have lodged in her chin. She's obviously very seriously ill and is in a coma."

Mr Fitzpatrick said he would fly to Thailand today to be with Pam and to comfort Jenny, 20, who was admitted to hospital with shock.

Jenny, who was returning to Australia after studying as an exchange in the US, was standing next to her older sister at the time and nursed her until medical help arrived.

She said the sisters arrived in the area near the River Kwai, a major tourist drawcard, the day before.

Mr Fitzpatrick said his daughter, who had been working and holidaying in the United Kingdom and Austria, had visited the same part of Thailand three years ago and not experienced any trouble.

"A random shot like that, a random bullet," he said. "When Jenny rang me this morning to tell me - it is something that just shatters you. "If she was half a step forwards or backwards she would have been OK."

- news.com.au

[sriracha john]

A very vibrant-looking young woman struck down

Pam Fitzpatrick

[Phil Conners]

What is she doing in Thailand anyway

[ColPyat]

What is she doing in Thailand anyway

Having a holiday?

Some people are occasionally doing that, strange as it sounds.

[bkkmadness]

What is she doing in Thailand anyway

what an odd question,no?

Holiday at a guess mate.

[Scott]

My condolences and thoughts are with the family and friends.

[taxexile]

What is she doing in Thailand anyway

what an odd question,no?

very odd question from a very odd poster.

what a tragic thing to happen to someone.

her family must be going through h3ll.

hopefully she will recover , and hopefully the gunmen , and the person who ordered this attack , are arrested and punished. but as in most places these days , its the victims and their loved ones who usually suffer more than the perpetrators.

for crimes like this , they should take a leaf out of chinas book. but that discussion is for another time and place.

[Ling Kae]

I received a SMS from Australia yesterday about this shooting and I knew nothing of it. The first confirmation I got was on ABC Asia Pacific channel this morning. Why is there no reporting on Thai TV or the Thai papers. No one knows whats going and the only way was for me to read about it here with the links posted. Another cover up maybe?

[taxexile]

its in todays nation or bangkok post.

and will probably be in the thai language newspapers.

gun crime is common here.

[Jai Dee]

Drive-by shooter wounds Australian nurse

An Australian nurse has been shot in the neck in a drive-by shooting in Kanchanaburi, and her family is flying to Thailand today to be by her bedside.

The Australian press reported this morning that Pam Fitzpatrick, 26, of Springwood in Brisbane's south was wounded when three shots were fired into a crowded bar in Kanchanaburi town early on Monday.

The victim and her sister Jenny Fitzpatrick had just watched the Australia versus Brazil World Cup game when two men on a motorbike opened fire. Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) says Ms Fitzpatrick was "seriously injured", according to a report by the Australian Associated Press.

More from the Bangkok Post here.

[Krungthepian]

I read that the lady, Pam Fitzpatrick, had just arrived in Thailand. Came to see sister. Had just watched Brazil vs Aust match, 1-2am Mon. Was allegedly a drive-by shooting at the Up To You bar; don't know it. Run by a Brit. Three shots; one hit lady; who is still unconscious (Tues morn).

Bad wilun? Papers called it local feud; no details.

No good.

[stumonster]

Shot nurse fighting for life

By Ian Black

June 20, 2006

AN Australian nurse shot in the neck in a drive-by shooting at a crowded tourist bar near Bangkok is fighting for her life in a Thai hospital after surgery.

Thai police and Australian embassy officials believed Pam Fitzpatrick was the innocent victim of a long-running local vendetta when she was caught in a hail of bullets early yesterday.

Ms Fitzpatrick, 26, on holiday from Brisbane, was listed as critical today after being transported from the Thai-Burma railway town of Kanchanburi to Bangkok's Samitivej Hospital overnight.

She was gunned down by unknown assailants at the Up To You, whose British expatriate owner had been involved in a bitter dispute with locals.

Ms Fitzpatrick arrived in Thailand at the weekend with her sister, Jenny, to spend a holiday in Kanchanburi, the site of World War II's Burma railway and bridge over the River Kwai, 150km west of Bangkok.

Jenny Fitzpatrick was "distraught" at the condition of her sister.

Their father, Kevin Fitzpatrick, is expected to arrive in Bangkok tonight.

Her father had been in regular telephone contact with the hospital and with embassy officials.

He said he had emigrated to Australia with his family to escape the violence endemic in South Africa since the end of Apartheid.

"We've just had enough of shooting," he said.

Mr Fitzpatrick said his sister in Johannesburg had been hijacked at gunpoint and the family just wanted to avoid further violence.

Full story here

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story...70-1702,00.html

[ando]

A lot of people have hand guns in Thailand.

The country has a very high murder rate per/capita compared to even the USA. And murder with firearms seems to be the preferred method in the Land Of Smiles!

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur_...s-with-firearms

This poor girl was obviously just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

[naka]

There seems to be nothing but bad press for Thailand lately.

Naka.

[jackr]

Yep, not safe anywhere, but I've always felt unsure in Kan even when I first visited in '98. The river and natural attractions are great but never felt at ease with the locals, as with Sukothai. Obviously this can and does happen in any town in the country but it's about time they started making an example as someone else suggested if they really want more business from more tourists.

[CymruAmByth]

Recently visited Kanchanaburi on a golf weekend. Popped into town and stumbled - accidentally - into a night club/bar frequented 100% by Thais.

Our lasting memory of that evening was an undercurrent of hostility towards us.

Not related to this poor girls plight (wish her a speedy recovery) but none of our group that were out that night will be visiting Kan again. Did not like the place one bit!

[Phil Conners]

What is she doing in Thailand anyway

what an odd question,no?

very odd question from a very odd poster.

Pot calling the kettle ...

I don't think it is an odd question. I just said what I though, she looks too nice to hang out in a dive in Kanchanaburi - particularly after all the trouble there seems to be there. Just read other posters opinion about that area, and it has had enough publicity in the western press, no?