Crime Gunman Opens Fire at Festival in Nakhon Si Thammarat — One Dead, Eight Injured

[Georgealbert]

 

Picture courtesy of Khoasod 

 

A night of celebration turned into chaos at a festival , when a gunman opened fire, leaving one person dead and at least eight others injured. The shooting occurred after midnight during the closing night of the “Kam Lon Festival @ Kiriwong” in Lan Saka district, Nakhon Si Thammarat province.

 

The incident took place at around 01:20 on 30 July, shortly after a performance by southern Thai singer Baw Vee, the final act of the five-day event held near Kiriwong Bridge in the Kam Lon community.

 

As crowds were dispersing after the concert, multiple gunshots were heard, prompting terrified festivalgoers to flee in panic. According to initial reports, one person was killed and eight others were injured in the attack.

 

 

Police captured the alleged gunman, identified as Ek Wang Sai. Authorities revealed that Ek had a personal grudge against a man known as “Lawyer Ong”, whom he encountered at the festival. The lawyer had previously represented a legal rival of Ek’s, a case that reportedly led to Ek serving time in prison.

 

The suspect reportedly assaulted the lawyer and then opened fire, severely injuring him. A bystander who attempted to intervene was also shot and died from his injuries. Lawyer Ong remains in critical condition and has been transferred to Maharaj Nakhon Si Thammarat Hospital for emergency treatment.

 

Police officers at the scene managed to shoot and subdue the suspect before further harm could be done. An investigation is now underway, with authorities how the suspect managed to bring a firearm into the festival grounds.

 

The “Kam Lon Festival @ Kiriwong” was in its third year and is a popular event in the region, drawing large crowds of locals and tourists. This year’s event, held from 25 to 29 July, had concluded without incident until the shooting on the final night.

 

Authorities have vowed to tighten security at future public events and are calling for calm as they continue their investigation.

 

  Adapted by Asean Now from Khoasod 2025-07-30

 

 

 

[JoePai]

Hells bells, this place is getting like US  😟

[norsurin]

3 hours ago, JoePai said:

Hells bells, this place is getting like US  😟

Worse 

[NemoH]

Crazy ..total degeneration of Thai security .. lately it’s only killings, murder, mass shooting, scam centers and the war … who will come Thailand ? 🤣🤣🤣

[spidermike007]

I've always maintained that these shootings happen on rare occasions here, an average of perhaps once per year. So far this has not been a good year for shootings in Thailand, but we're still a long ways to go to catch up to the US. The US is #1. For the mass shooting capital of the world.

 

This is not a positive development for Thailand, it's a terrible tragedy anytime a random shooting like this happens. The world has gone mad. 

 

 

[hotchilli]

3 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

An investigation is now underway, with authorities how the suspect managed to bring a firearm into the festival grounds.

No checks, just walk-in open to all.

[Mavideol]

RIP to the dead ones......one another thought,  TAT must be wondering how to manage all the latest negativity shown worldwide, BKK market, now this one, tourists are lining up to (NOT) come

[StayinThailand2much]

Damn; and the other day at Chatuchak... Thailand becoming like the U.S. in this regard... 😆 

[newbee2022]

Looks like America's influence comes to Thailand.

Every day a shooting? Hopefully not.

[Beat666]

A tragic tale, yet unsurprising. Such incidents are far from uncommon.

 

During provincial Songkran celebrations, shootings and stabbings have occurred for decades, often stemming from rivalries or personal disputes, as seen here.

 

Life in rural areas starkly contrasts with Bangkok or tourist hubs.

 

Even temple fairs and local festivals are not spared from such violence.

[Grumpy one]

35 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

I've always maintained that these shootings happen on rare occasions here, an average of perhaps once per year. So far this has not been a good year for shootings in Thailand, but we're still a long ways to go to catch up to the US. The US is #1. For the mass shooting capital of the world.

 

This is not a positive development for Thailand, it's a terrible tragedy anytime a random shooting like this happens. The world has gone mad. 

 

 

Compare the population of the US 340 mil and Thailand 71 mil 

The locals are trying hard to catch up

[ALLSEEINGEYE]

Darn good thing AR's are not so prevalant here or things would be much worse

[ronster]

Always something at these music shows. 

It's usually young teenagers who can't handle drink and start boxing or it's some older person with a pistol who is drunk and has a grudge which the drink increases.

[Dogmatix]

Sounds like the gunman may have met the lawyer by chance which would imply it was not premeditated by that the gunman was in the habit of carrying a gun around with him, presumably without a carry permit, as Anutin made these impossible to get while interior minister but that doesn't stop Thais carrying guns.

[Jiggo]

1 hour ago, newbee2022 said:

Looks like America's influence comes to Thailand.

Every day a shooting? Hopefully not.

Your blaming America, what part, Venezuela 

[newbee2022]

7 minutes ago, Jiggo said:

Your blaming America, what part, Venezuela 

Or Columbia 😂

[sammieuk1]

Right now even London looks safer 🤔

[Docno]

A lot of people (understandably) comparing this week's events to the US. Let's see what the facts are:

 

Metric	Value
U.S. gun‑death rate	~13.6 per 100,000 per year
Thailand population	~66.05 million
Hypothetical annual gun deaths in Thailand	≈ 8,982
Equivalent weekly gun deaths	≈ 172 per week

 

Still have a long way to go... 

[Suetape]

Sickos like that make it harder and harder for people to continue on with their lives and not be a bit paranoid.  

[Sig]

55 minutes ago, Docno said:

A lot of people (understandably) comparing this week's events to the US. Let's see what the facts are:

 

Metric	Value
U.S. gun‑death rate	~13.6 per 100,000 per year
Thailand population	~66.05 million
Hypothetical annual gun deaths in Thailand	≈ 8,982
Equivalent weekly gun deaths	≈ 172 per week

 

 

Still have a long way to go... 

There are a LOT more shootings in Thailand that never make it to any statistic counter. I've heard gunshots regularly in some areas of Bangkok. It isn't surprising at all to hear. I've only witnessed one such incident directly and I don't believe it ever got reported. (Never have heard a gunshot in the US, other than on shooting ranges or hunting) The blood didn't even get cleaned up for many hours, by locals who just wanted their sidewalk clean. I never even saw a policeman attend the scene of the shooting in the 40 minutes or so that I was there. 
If Thais were allowed to have guns like people in the US... the carnage would be unbelievable! You'd have every Somchai who got mad at some neighbor or at a driver they didn't like, going down to the sports shop and buying a gun and shooting up the place in his fit of rage.
In the US, in 2024, deaths by gun were 13 deaths per 100,000 people.
In Thailand, in 2024, deaths by gun were 5.3 per 100,000 people.
Gun ownership in the US is about 8X that of Thailand. Can you imagine how insane this place would be with the same availability and ownership levels!? In that sense, maybe it could actually be impressive that gun deaths in the US aren't higher? And with 55-60% of gun deaths in the US being suicides compared with 20-25% in Thailand.... makes it even more incredible. Adjusted, this brings it to: U.S.: ~5.2 non-suicide gun deaths per 100,000. Thailand: ~4.1 non-suicide gun deaths per 100,000. I know stats don't exactly work like the following... but humor me - multiply that death rate by the gun ownership rates to match that of the US and you'd have: U.S.: ~5.2 non-suicide gun deaths per 100,000. Thailand: ~32.8 non-suicide gun deaths per 100,000. Kinda puts a different light on it than I'd ever thought of before, even though I'd already thought of Thailand as having a much higher tendency toward violence than most people seem to think. Of course, that's only anecdotal from personal experience. But digging into the reality of things often will show a different picture than that which is bandied about, like how Thailand is so peaceful and wonderful and full of smiles and the US is a horrific place that you'll likely get shot or experience a shooting. Both polar opposites of what I've experiences in decades of living in both places. But of course, there will always be those US haters commenting their nonsense on here about how horrible the US is and how life in Thailand is so chill because Thais are so kind, peaceable, and docile. lol  To each their own. 

[Chosenfew]

3 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

I've always maintained that these shootings happen on rare occasions here, an average of perhaps once per year. So far this has not been a good year for shootings in Thailand, but we're still a long ways to go to catch up to the US. The US is #1. For the mass shooting capital of the world.

 

This is not a positive development for Thailand, it's a terrible tragedy anytime a random shooting like this happens. The world has gone mad. 

 

 

I would argue Mexico is worse, narco state.

[spidermike007]

3 minutes ago, Chosenfew said:

I would argue Mexico is worse, narco state.

I spend a lot of time in Mexico and I know Mexico well, there used to be a lot more random homicides in Mexico. These days they are fairly targeted with the exception of Tijuana, which is the most dangerous city in Mexico, due to three cartels vying for territory.

 

The entirety of Baja Norte is quite dangerous. 

 

And though the homicide rate in Mexico is quite high, there are very few mass shootings. America is number one in the world, when it comes to mass shootings. 

[Globalres]

Problem is, now security checks will be introduced and inconvenience every one.  How many years after the “shoe bomber”  has the rest of the world’s population who travel had to take off there shoes sit airport security checks!  Unfortunately it only takes one idiot for millions to suffer.

[Globalres]

Sorry, their shoes.

[LetsGoJoe]

11 hours ago, JoePai said:

Hells bells, this place is getting like US  😟

Not really...when craziness happens here it usually happens for a reason...In America it just happens.

[Jonathan Swift]

12 hours ago, JoePai said:

Hells bells, this place is getting like US   😟

US will always be 10 times worse