Former Park Official Arrested for Shooting Head of Forest Fire Control Station

Kanchanaburi: A man has been arrested for shooting and seriously injuring the head of the Salak Phra forest fire station while he was on duty. The perpetrator is a former Erawan National Park official who had previously been prosecuted for trespassing on national park land. According to Thai News Agency, Mr. Warun Chansawang, head of the Salak Phra-Erawan forest fire control station and assistant head of Erawan National Park in Kanchanaburi province, was seriously injured after being shot in the left abdomen with a .38 caliber handgun by an assailant. The incident occurred near the Pong Pat bridge, Moo 1, Ban Pak Khlong, Tambon Chong Sadao, Mueang district, Kanchanaburi province. The perpetrator is Mr. Somsak, 57 years old, a former Erawan National Park official. Police have recently arrested him and are currently transferring him to Lat Ya Police Station. The investigation revealed that the suspect was a former government employee of Erawan National Park who had been prosecuted for encroaching on national park land. He had resigned from his position in September 2025 before returning to cultivate the same plot of land, approximately 2 rai (about 0.8 acres), which was the subject of the previous legal proceedings. On the day of the incident, Mr. Warun encountered the suspect at the scene and attempted to proceed with legal action. This angered the suspect, who then pulled a firearm from his backpack and shot Mr. Warun. Furthermore, the suspect has a history of drug use. Police are currently conducting further investigations and gathering evidence to proceed with legal action. Regarding the injured person's condition after surgery, it was found that the bullet entered the left rib cage, affecting the spleen, stomach, diaphragm, and lungs. The injured person is now conscious but has lost a significant amount of blood, requiring close monitoring and the use of a ventilator in the ICU.