One foreign Tourist: A foreign tourist was fatally injured and two Thais and two other tourists hurt when a group of young men fired rifles at a rival gang near a Bangkok shopping mall Sunday night.
The shooting happened at 8.30pm on a soi behind the Centara Watergate Pavillion Hotel where tourist coaches were parked.
The soi is off Ratchaprarop Road in Makkasan subdistrict of Ratchathewi district.
Police said Gakhrejr Dheeraj, 42, an Indian, died later in hospital. Initilly, police said Keovongsa Thonekeo, 28, a Lao tourist, also died in hospital but police later said the Lao still survived.
Another Indian tourist, Sharma Dharmendra, 45, was injured along with two Thai men, Thaksin Suk-iad, 22, and Pornthep Pumpuang, 23.
Pol Maj Gen Senit Samararn Samruajkit, commander of the Metropolitan Police Division 1, said three young men armed with rifles opened fire at their rivals following a dispute at a snooker parlour near the soi where the shooting took place.
Senit quoted witnesses as saying that they saw some 20 young men armed with pistols, knives and sticks running from the snooker parlour into the soi where three young men carrying rifles opened fire.
Senit said police have yet to investigate the type of rifles used but spent shells from the AK47 assault rile were found at the scene.
Juli Sawang-aroon, 62, a tour guide at the shopping mall, said the injured Indians belonged to a group of Indian tourists taken by coach to dine at the India Gate restaurant on the ground floor of the shopping mall.
After the dinner, the Indian tourists were given some time for shopping before the coach took them back to their hotel. Tourists who had finished their shopping returned to the car park on the soi to wait for their coach.
Senit said the rival gangs are believed to be made up of youngsters in the area.
