Police use drone, bombs to smoke out gunman in 4-hour standoff
Police took over four hours to arrest a man wanted for robbery at gunpoint in Samut Sakhon on Thursday night. Nithirat Rangnoi, 35, was suspected in the attempted theft of a 3-baht-weight (45.5 grams) gold necklace from a som tam retailer last week.
Last Friday (July 12), a man matching Nithirat’s description ordered som tam from an eatery in Nakhon Pathom’s Samphran district.
When he finished eating, he asked the retailer to fetch a bottle of alcohol. The suspect then sneaked after the retailer, pointed a gun at her head, and demanded the gold necklace.
When the retailer and her son resisted, the suspect shot his gun around 10 times to scare them before fleeing the scene on his motorcycle. The victims were unharmed and filed a police complaint the next day.
Police tracked Nithirat down to a dormitory in Samut Sakhon’s Krathum Baen district where he was hiding in his girlfriend’s room, number 237.
When he refused to surrender and pointed his gun at police, officials contacted Nithirat’s elder sister, wife and son, as well as Om Noi subdistrict mayor Boonchu Nilthanom.
His elder sister reminded Nithirat of his promise to their now-deceased mother to stay out of trouble, but the suspect remained silent and refused to surrender.
After deploying a drone to check the hideout, a police special team used tear gas and smoke grenades to raid the room. Finding 237 empty, they checked 236, and eventually found Nithirat hiding in the ceiling of room 238.
The suspect surrendered and handed over his gun before gradually climbing down from his perch.
Police have charged him with attempted killing, armed robbery, illegal gun possession, taking a firearm into a public place, and firing a gun without reason.
Officials confirmed that no one was injured in the successful arrest operation.
The suspect’s girlfriend said he was a Nakhon Pathom local who works as an electrician in Krathum Baen district. She said he had been addicted to online gambling for some time.
