The man arrested, Manoon Songlert, 43, from Nakhon Sri Thammarat, was shot in the right foot in the incident.
Manoon was among the gang of assailants who approached the house in the estate in the hope of shooting another man, who no longer lived there.
Of note, initial reports described the gang of assailants as a gang of teens.
Phuket City Police have now confirmed that Manoon faces charges of attempting to kill another person with a firearm, carrying a firearm in a public place without reasonable cause and without permission, and jointly invading a dwelling with weapons to commit an offense together by two or more people or at night.
Police explained in a statement that officers were called to the scene, which they described only as “a well-known housing estate in Koh Kaew”, at 11:30pm after local residents reports hearing seven to 10 gunshots believed to have been fired by teen gangs in the area.
Officers led by Phuket City Police Chief Col Sarawut Chuprasit arrived at the home, in Moo 4 Koh Kaew, to find a gunshot marking on the front of the house and a 9mm bullet casing on the street.
The two people who live in the house, “Mr Su” and “Ms Na” (not their real names), were at the home waiting for police.
The couple explained that Ms Na was home alone when a group of five to six “criminals” entered the house. The group asked for a “Mr Bas”, last name not given.
Ms Na said that she did not know a Mr Bas, only later learning that a Mr Bas had lived in the house before she and Mr Su moved in. Mr Bas moved out of the home on May 3.
The group were still in the home when Mr Su came home, parking his car in front of the house.
The group, believing that Mr Su was Mr Bas, exited the house. One of the assailants started shooting at him.
Mr Su had his own firearm, a .38-calibre revolver, at the ready, and returned fire, hitting Manoon in the foot.
The group then jumped in an Isuzu pickup parked in front of the house and fled.
In addition to the 9mm bullet casing found on the road, police reported seizing as evidence a black automatic 9mm pistol left dropped next to the house by one of the assailants.
Officers also have as evidence the .34-calibre revolver, which Mr Su readily handed over to police.
Also seized was a Krabi-registered Mazda 2 sedan the group of assailants left parked in front of the home.
Police noted that officers were investigating whether Mr Su is to face any charges over his possession of the .38-calibre revolver.
Phuket Provincial Police Commander Maj Gen Sermphan Sirikong has ordered senior officers at Phuket City Police Station, assisted by investigators from the Phuket Provincial Police, to track down the wanted perpetrators of the attack.
Officers are to “arrest all offenders for urgent legal action because it is an outrageous case shocking to the people”, the police statement read.
The statement noted that officers expected to arrest the other members of the group of assailants soon.
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