CHIANG RAI – A late-night shooting in Chiang Rai has left a 13-year-old boy dead and five others injured. The incident happened just after midnight on Thursday, near the three-way junction by the entrance to Ban Mae Phung in Pa Daet subdistrict, Pa Daet district. Police are working to identify and arrest those responsible.
At about 00:15 on December 18, 2025, an investigating officer at Pa Daet Police Station received a report of a youth fight, followed by sounds believed to be gunshots. Officers were sent to the junction on Highway 1126 (the Chiang Khian to Pa Daet route), close to the turn-off into Ban Mae Phung.
When police arrived, they found several injured people lying on the road. The group was later identified as:
- A 21-year-old man (name withheld)
- A 17-year-old boy (name withheld)
- A 14-year-old boy (name withheld)
- A 13-year-old boy (name withheld)
- A 20-year-old man from Phayao province (name withheld)
- A 19-year-old man (name withheld)
The suspected attackers were no longer at the scene. Emergency staff from Pa Daet Hospital were called in to take all the injured to hospital. Police later confirmed that the 13-year-old boy had been shot in the forehead by a firearm of unknown type and calibre.
He was critically injured and died after being taken to the hospital. The other five injured victims remained under medical care. Officers began gathering evidence, checking nearby CCTV, and speaking with the injured and other witnesses to track down the shooters.
Forensic Evidence collected near the scene
In daylight, officers from Pa Daet Police Station, along with forensic staff from Chiang Rai, returned to examine the area. They recovered items believed to be linked to the attack, including a knife and spent cartridge cases (size not confirmed). Investigators suspected the weapon used may have been a shotgun, but no final confirmation was reported.
The location is outside the main community area, and police were told there were no direct eyewitnesses at the moment the shots were fired. Even so, early interviews with the injured helped officers narrow down possible suspects. The group was believed to include teenagers from Pa Nga subdistrict in Pa Daet district, with others said to have come from Doi Lan in Mueang Chiang Rai.
The Chiang Rai provincial police commander ordered provincial investigators to support the local station, with senior officers pushing for a fast arrest due to the serious nature of the case.
A 49-year-old resident living nearby said he heard what sounded like two gunshots just after midnight. He looked out from inside his home but did not go outside. He said he could see a group of teenagers in the road and noticed a person lying at the junction. He asked his partner to call the police.
He added that the area is usually quiet, with most incidents linked to road accidents rather than violence. He said the shooting was frightening and called for stronger patrols and CCTV installation, as there were no government cameras at the junction.
Family grief, birthday plans turned into a funeral
At the victim’s home, relatives prepared for funeral rites while friends arrived to pay respects and share what they knew. The boy’s mother said her son had been living with his grandparents while she and her husband worked in Rayong. She was told in the middle of the night that her son had been shot and killed. She said she was devastated and returned home straight away with her husband.
She described her son as quick-tempered at times, like many teenagers, with average school performance. From what she learned from his friends, the trouble started earlier at a local festival in Pa Daet district. A dispute reportedly broke out there between youths from different areas.
The mother said her son and his friends left and went home, but later tried to take an injured friend to Pa Daet Hospital. On the way, at the Ban Mae Phung junction, they ran into a group believed to be the same teenagers. The group attacked again, and this time shots were fired, hitting her son.
She believed her son may not have been the intended target and could have been caught in the chaos. She asked police to move quickly, bring the suspects to justice, and prevent anyone else from being harmed. She said she didn’t want her son’s death to be ignored.
The mother said her son was 13 and was due to turn 14 on 21 December. Earlier in the month, he had called to say he wanted football boots as a birthday present, and she planned to buy them. Now, she said, what should have been a birthday celebration had become preparations for his cremation. She said she still couldn’t accept what had happened and wanted the attackers caught as soon as possible.
