Police were informed of the incident around 1:35am yesterday after it was reported the youth was riding his motorbike near the Phuket Mining Museum when a man in a white pickup approached him and shot at him, hitting him in his left arm.
The unnamed youngster returned to his home in Kathu before his mother rushed him to the Patong Hospital for medical assistance.
Following treatment and after being discharged from hospital, the boy and his mother made an official complaint at Kathu Police Station around 3:20am yesterday.
Police then confirmed today (Mar 28) that after studying CCTV footage from near the site of the incident they were able to track down the assailant and make the arrest. They confirmed the offender as a 17-year-old male who used a stolen Thai-made pistol that fired .38 caliber ammunition.
Pol. Maj. Gen. Sinlert Sukhum, Phuket Provincial Police Commander, oversaw the investigation and was aided by: Pol.Col.Akanit Phithaksat, Deputy Commander of Phuket Police; Pol. Col. Rungrit Rattanaphakdee, Superintendent of Kathu Police Station; and Pol. Col. Ekkalak Bunsaengcharoen, Superintendent of Phuket Police, while the arrest of the youth was carried out by Pol. Lt. Col. Chayaphon. Phunaruemit, Deputy Superintendent from Kathu Police Station along with fellow officers from Kathu Police Station.
The investigation revealed that prior to the shooting a skirmish had occurred between four young boys on bikes and some other youths in a white Isuzu pickup truck at the PTT gas station in Pa Khlok. The pickup then followed the youths on their bikes before the shooting occurred near the Phuket Tin Mine Museum site in Kathu.
Police confirmed they questioned a further five people who were involved in the incident but did not reveal whether any charges had been made against any of them.
They did confirm, however, that the unnamed 17-year-old boy responsible for pulling the trigger of the gun has been sent to Thalang Police Station and will face charges in due course, wth possession of firearms and ammunition without permission, jointly trying to kill others, taking firearms into towns, villages, or public roads without permission and without reasonable cause among the charges faced.