A woman was arrested on suspicion of involvement after shots were fired at protesters camped at Victory Monument early Tuesday morning, but two men fled away.
Anti-government protesters camp at Victory Monument at night. (Photo by Panumas Sanguanwong)
The incident occurred around 2am Tuesday when a vehicle drove around the Victory Monument and three shots were fired at the rally crowd. The driver then tried to flee via Phahon Yothin road, but the vehicle could not get through the protest guards.
The guards detain Orawan Jabkan, 26 and handed her to Phaya Thai police, who were informed about the shooting. The police went to inspect the scene and reported finding a black sedan with bullet marks on its right side and near the licence plate.
Witnesses told the police there were three passengers in the car, one woman and two men.
Pol Col Chusak Techarakpong, deputy chief of Metropolitan Police Division 1, told the media that the vehicle drove through a checkpoint on Phaya Thai road and one woman was detained. The two men who fled were still free. Initial investigations indicated the group may be drug dealers or car thieves.
Pol Lt Col Ekarat Pao-in, a deputy superintendent of Chana Songkram police station, said the police had increased their presence on all four sides of the Victory Monument, setting up checkpoints on four roads, each manned by five police officers. More police foot patrols would also be deployed each night.
Victory Monument is one of key protest areas for the protesters' "Bangkok shutdown" operation. A hand grenade was thrown into the rally crowd there on Sunday afternoon, injuring a total of 28 people.