Picture courtesy of ThaiRath.

 

An 11-year-old boy from Nakhon Ratchasima is in critical condition after accidentally shooting himself with a wooden speargun device, he found discarded by the roadside. The incident occurred on the morning of March 4, when the child, identified as Atit, was cycling to school in the village of Ban Non Peep, Nakhon Ratchasima.

 

At around 07:00, while riding along the Klong Song Nam Road, Atit came across a speargun lying by the side of the road. Curious, he picked it up and, while handling the weapon, inadvertently triggered the mechanism, causing a spearfishing dart to fire, striking him in the neck.

 

In excruciating pain, Atit managed to cycle back to his village, where he sought help from local residents. They quickly alerted emergency responders, who arrived at the scene and administered first aid before transporting him to the local hospital. Due to the severity of the injury, he was subsequently transferred to Maharat Nakhon Ratchasima Hospital for emergency surgery to remove the dart.

 

Atit’s grandmother, 65-year-old Somchit Robru, shared her shock and concern, revealing that Atit had been on his way to his primary school, Ban Non Udom Nopdon Upatham, when the incident occurred. She mentioned that the boy’s parents work in Bangkok, and he lives with her.

 

Somchit explained that shortly after Atit left home, she noticed commotion outside their house. When she investigated, she found her grandson, bloodied and in pain. Atit told her that he had found the abandoned speargun and, while playing with it, accidentally fired the dart into his neck. Despite the injury, Atit showed remarkable resilience, managing to return home and seek help.

 

Medical staff are currently monitoring Atit’s condition after the surgery. Authorities are investigating how the speargun came to be abandoned by the roadside, and warnings have been issued to avoid handling potentially dangerous objects found in public spaces.

 

 

-- 2025-03-05

 

I hope that he makes it. His stoicism and level-headedness reminds me of the Plutarch's account of the Spartan boy and the foxes.

Hopefully he recovers well.

Why was a loaded ready to fire spear gun discarded beside the road anyways

Turn it around, aim the pointy end towards you and pull the trigger...never ends well