A 29-year-old American man has been arrested after a police officer was seriously injured in the neck while intervening in an alleged theft at a convenience store in Bangkok's Suea Pa district on 22 August 2026.

Police identified the suspect as Alexander Troy Lopez, a US national. He was detained in less than 30 minutes after the attack and faces initial charges of attempted murder of an officer on duty and an offence relating to robbery.

Officer injured while stopping alleged theft

Police at Plap Phla Chai 2 station were alerted to an alleged theft at a convenience store on Phadung Dao Road. Lieutenant Prasarn Somkhanay, deputy traffic inspector at Phra Ratchawang police station, was patrolling the area by motorcycle when he came across the reported crime.

He was the first officer to intervene after members of the public had alerted authorities and attempted to follow the suspect.

During the intervention, police said the foreign man used a yellow box cutter to slash Lt Prasarn in the neck, as he approached on his motorcycle, causing a deep wound. The suspect then ran towards Suea Pa Plaza.

Members of the public and officers assisted Lt Prasarn before he was taken to Klang Hospital. He remains under treatment but is now in a safe condition, police said.

Suspect found near Suan Mali junction.

Metropolitan Police Division 6, under the direction of Major General Chaikrit Pho-a, brought together detectives, patrol officers and traffic police to trace the escape route.

Investigators from Plap Phla Chai 1 police station questioned people in the area and received information that the suspect had been seen walking towards the Suan Mali junction.

Police searched the surrounding area and found him hiding at a temporary shelter beside the road. Officers from Plap Phla Chai 1 and Chakkrawat police stations took him into custody and seized a yellow box cutter believed to have been used in the attack.

Lopez was taken to Plap Phla Chai 1 police station for questioning. Police said his initial responses were confused and he was not fully cooperative, leading officers to assess that he might be intoxicated. Tourist Police interpreters were called to help communicate with him.

Pictures courtesy of Amarin

Drug result awaits medical confirmation

A preliminary urine test found methamphetamine in his system, police said. Officers took Lopez to Police General Hospital for a medical examination, blood testing and confirmation by doctors before deciding whether to add drug-related charges.

Police are also checking his background, immigration status and evidence from the scene, including witness accounts and CCTV footage.

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22 August 2026

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A lifetime of rice soup, coming up. Please, no prisoner exchange or amnesty let him rot in the Bangkok Hilton.

Just pop a cap in his backside... moron flaky idiot foreigners that shouldn't be here.

Here is a Alexander Troy Lopez, mid 20s, from San Diego area.

A California warrant out for him since March this year. The link also has his rap sheet. No violence but alcohol and other issues with police. Of course, this could be someone else entirely...

https://www.localcrimenews.com/welcome/detail/95114218/alexander-lopez-arrest.html

Man the world is really shifting with even America now exporting it's broke homeless blokes who are a threat to public safety.

Tatts & criminals have a strange attraction.

In my time in law enforcement some in the public were often critical of police who use firearms on suspects who "just had a knife". This is the flip side when police contact a suspect with a box cutter. The suspect is lucky not to have bullet holes in him. I am not saying a firearm is the only instrument to deal with suspect with edged weapons but "nothing in my job description states I must get stabbed or slashed". It can take less than 2 minutes to bleed out when the jugular vein is slashed.

32 minutes ago, ronnie50 said:

Here is a Alexander Troy Lopez, mid 20s, from San Diego area.

A California warrant out for him since March this year. The link also has his rap sheet. No violence but alcohol and other issues with police. Of course, this could be someone else entirely...

https://www.localcrimenews.com/welcome/detail/95114218/alexander-lopez-arrest.html

Well, this seems like the best outcome for everyone.

14 minutes ago, sqwakvfr said:

The suspect is lucky not to have bullet holes in him.

From the available info, the Thai policeman might not have seen what was a concealed weapon and the physical confrontation could have happened very fast - maybe too fast for the cop to pull out his gun and got his neck slashed.

Seems to a big fad on tiktok at the moment, of these American guys claiming you can come and live in Luxury in Thailand for a dollar a year.

One guy on it has a criminal record as long as your arm, but here he is living in Thailand, doing the whole 'sell everything and come to Thailand'.

Fatigue is real

2 hours ago, TimBKK said:

A lifetime of rice soup, coming up.

Except we know he won't don't we.

3 hours ago, ronnie50 said:

Here is a Alexander Troy Lopez, mid 20s, from San Diego area.

A California warrant out for him since March this year. The link also has his rap sheet. No violence but alcohol and other issues with police. Of course, this could be someone else entirely...

https://www.localcrimenews.com/welcome/detail/95114218/alexander-lopez-arrest.html

I'm surprised someone with an arrest warrant can leave the country.

13 minutes ago, TedG said:

f I'm surprised someone with an arrest warrant can leave the country.

You are not processed out in the US. Anyone can leave.

That said they have started scanning passports before TSA security.

He's going to pay a heavy price for that.

12 hours ago, ronnie50 said:

From the available info, the Thai policeman might not have seen what was a concealed weapon and the physical confrontation could have happened very fast - maybe too fast for the cop to pull out his gun and got his neck slashed.

On this incident you are right. The Thai Police officer approached the the suspect while he was riding his scooter. He got too close while on his scooter and the suspect turned around and immediately attacked him in the throat area.

Running around Bkk barefoot, that in itself makes him a case for the guys with the butterfly nets.

13 minutes ago, sqwakvfr said:

On this incident you are right. The Thai Police officer approached the the suspect while he was riding his scooter. He got too close while on his scooter and the suspect turned around and immediately attacked him in the throat area.

Seems like bad police protocol to me.

Police should always assume the perpetrator is armed and never get too close without drawing their gun.

Most people seem to not like cops. I think they're brave and risking and their lives.

Hope this cop gets well.

No doubt his family back home will be relieved he's inside and no further trouble to them

1 hour ago, scubascuba3 said:

No doubt his family back home will be relieved he's inside and no further trouble to them

I doubt it. Tough love is usually just spoken and rarely implemented. I know this all too well....

1 hour ago, atpeace said:

I doubt it. Tough love is usually just spoken and rarely implemented. I know this all too well....

When I left home, my dad gave me a twenty and told me if you ever get in trouble, just call, unless you're in jail.

3 hours ago, save the frogs said:

Seems like bad police protocol to me.

Police should always assume the perpetrator is armed and never get too close without drawing their gun.

Most people seem to not like cops. I think they're brave and risking and their lives.

Hope this cop gets well.

Yes. Very difficult to deal with a suspect and operate a motorcycle/scooter at the same. A better approach could have been to stop the scooter and contact the suspect on foot with both hands free to deal with an attack.

1 minute ago, sqwakvfr said:

Yes. Very difficult to deal with a suspect and operate a motorcycle/scooter at the same. A better approach could have been to stop the scooter and contact the suspect on foot with both hands free to deal with an attack.

So it was the officer's fault he got slashed?

1 hour ago, Yellowtail said:

So it was the officer's fault he got slashed?

When did I say that? Just a thought on a different tactic when it comes to street police operations. My experience has been my fellow officers always debriefed after every critical incident. The purpose was to learn from it and not blame anyone. This meant we were all brutally honest and the purpose was to to do things in a better manner the next time. How many critical incident debriefs or After Actions Reports have you been part of? I have been part many and I always learned from every one of them.

Criticism for most professionals is not an attack or blame. It is one of the best ways to be better. Don't know if critical incidents debriefs occur in LOS or not.

Edited August 23Aug 23 by sqwakvfr

12 minutes ago, sqwakvfr said:

When did I say that? Just a thought on a different tactic when it comes to street police operations. My experience has been my fellow officers always debriefed after every critical incident. The purpose was to learn from it and not blame anyone. This meant we were all brutally honest and the purpose was to to do things in a better manner the next time. How many critical incident debriefs or After Actions Reports have you been part of? I have been part many and I always learned from every one of them.

Criticism for most professionals is not an attack or blame. It is one of the best ways to be better. Don't know if critical incidents debriefs occur in LOS or not.

I think drawing a gun and chasing a shoplifter down the sidewalk on foot a bit extreme.

I reaffirm my position: forget the nationality; no visa exempt for anyone under the age of 50. That'll get rid of a lot of the scum before they can board a plane.

18 hours ago, ronnie50 said:

From the available info, the Thai policeman might not have seen what was a concealed weapon and the physical confrontation could have happened very fast - maybe too fast for the cop to pull out his gun and got his neck slashed.

Here's a suggestion for the BiB- The Tueller Drill, also called the 21-Foot-Rule, is an exercise to enable a law enforcement officer to defend against an attacker armed with a edged or blunt weapon.

Practical testing has determined that 1.5 seconds is the minimum time required for a cop to draw his pistol and fire. In that time, an attacker can cover 21 feet. That's why you so often hear U. S. cops order bystanders to "Stand back!" in YouTube arrest videos. If they get closer, the cop needs to draw his pistol.

You can learn more about it here:

Another quality tourist in Thailand.

It's a jungle out there.

18 hours ago, TedG said:

I'm surprised someone with an arrest warrant can leave the country.

18 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

You are not processed out in the US. Anyone can leave.

That said they have started scanning passports before TSA security.

CBP generally doesn’t check US citizens crossing into Mexico, from there (Mexico DF) a US citizen can fly out to just about anywhere.

22 minutes ago, novacova said:

CBP generally doesn’t check US citizens crossing into Mexico, from there (Mexico DF) a US citizen can fly out to just about anywhere.

They probably don't check them flying into Canada either (where there is a nonstop Vancouver to Bangkok flight daily). A low level warrant probably wouldn't register anywhere anyway.

There's no excuse for this kind of behavior. Lock him up for the rest of his life. Maybe that will send a message.