Grenade in court attack was M79

Grenade in court attack was M79

The grenade fired at the Criminal Court on Friday was an armour-piercing M79 type, the same kind used in an attack on the now-dismantled Lat Phrao anti-government rally site, police say.

Deputy national police chief Ek Angsananon spoke about the matter yesterday after he met chief justice Thongchai Senamontri to discuss the progress of the probe into the grenade attack.

There have been four grenade attacks since the anti-government protesters' "Bangkok shutdown" campaign began on Jan 13, Pol Gen Ek said.

Two of them hit the Chaeng Watthana rally site.

The attacks at the Lat Phrao intersection rally site and the Criminal Court on Ratchadaphisek Road were carried out with the use of armour-piercing grenades fired from M79 launchers, he said.

The attackers at the Chaeng Watthana rally site only used conventional grenades, which means the perpetrators may have been a different group to the one which fired grenades at the Lat Phrao gathering and the Criminal Court, he said.

Pol Gen Ek said the investigation into Friday's attack found the grenade was fired from a vehicle opposite the court building.

The assailants may have only wanted to make a threat since no officials worked there on that day as it was the Makha Bucha public holiday, he said.

CCTV footage from cameras installed along Ratchadaphisek Road will be examined and witnesses questioned to track down the perpetrators, he said.

Pol Gen Ek said he had instructed the Metropolitan Police Division 2 and officers from Phahon Yothin police station to reinforce the checkpoints on Ratchadaphisek Road.

Pol Maj Gen Thawatchai Mekprasertsuk, commander of the Forensic Science Police Office, said the attacker was highly skilled at using the weapon as the suspect was able to curve the trajectory of the grenade to hit the court.

Meanwhile, police are checking CCTV footage to find clues about Saturday’s gun attack at the house of Anti-Corruption Organisation of Thailand chairman Pramon Sutivong.

More than 10 bullets were fired into Mr Pramon's home in Yannawa district, There was minor damage to the property but no one was hurt.

Pol Lt Col Siam Insuwanno, deputy superintendent of Thung Maha Mek police station, said yesterday a van, car and motorcycle were seen in CCTV footage filmed 10 minutes before the shooting.

According to Pol Lt Col Siam, witnesses also saw two men in front of Mr Pramon’s house two days before the attack.

The witnesses said it was too dark to identify the men, so the investigators will examine CCTV footage, he said.

A police source said the gunmen used .45 training bullets in the attack on Mr Pramon’s house.

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