PATTAYA, THAILAND – An overnight attack by a suspected youth gang in a Pattaya side street left an 18-year-old convenience store employee wounded and several vehicles damaged, with police investigating attempted murder and property damage.
Youth gang attack in Nongprue side street
The incident occurred late on Wednesday, 10 December 2025, at around 11:30 p.m. in Soi Nongprue 4 in Nongprue subdistrict near Pattaya. According to police, shots were heard, one civilian was injured and several private vehicles suffered damage. Police Lieutenant Surachai Chuaykoon, deputy chief investigator at Nongprue station, said officers and Pattaya City rescue teams were dispatched to the side street immediately after an emergency call.
18-year-old bystander hit by stray bullet
Rescuers found Natthaphat Kasemsunthorn (18), an employee of a 7-Eleven minimart, with a gunshot wound to his right arm at the scene. He had been riding his motorcycle past the group and was apparently struck by a stray bullet. Medics provided first aid and took him to a nearby hospital, where he was reported to be in stable condition.
Vehicles struck as shots ring out
Nearby, officers discovered a white Toyota Fortuner with a bullet hole in the right front fender. The as-yet unnamed owner told police he had been driving home when he heard three to four shots and felt an impact on his vehicle.
“After the shooting stopped and a group of youths on motorcycles and in cars had fled, I pulled over and saw the damage – and found the injured 7-Eleven employee,”
said the driver.
Unlicensed black car and motorbikes under scrutiny
Witnesses, mostly local youths, described a group of young people gathered in the soi with a black car without license plates and four to five motorcycles. When some witnesses tried to leave the area, the black car reportedly followed them. According to their accounts, seven to eight youths leaned out of the vehicle and fired three to four shots with a handgun, missing those being chased but hitting passing vehicles and the 18-year-old convenience store worker.
Earlier shots and threats the previous evening
The same local youth group told police that presumably the same attackers had appeared at the exact spot the previous evening. On that occasion, three shots were allegedly fired into the air, accompanied by provocations and a promise to return. Investigators treated that earlier incident as a possible prelude to an escalating confrontation between youth gangs in the Nongprue and Pattaya area.
Separate knife attack injures two teenagers
Almost at the same time, Pattaya City Police received reports of a separate incident on South Pattaya Road. Two male teenagers sought help after being attacked with knives. The victims, identified only as “Mr A” (15) and “Mr B” (16), had serious cut wounds, and one teen’s hand was reported to be badly injured. Both said they had fled from an attack near the shooting scene in Nongprue and were admitted to a local hospital in critical condition.
Evidence collection and joint manhunt
At the shooting scene, investigators secured three spent 9 mm shell casings and a black knife sheath. Police were reviewing CCTV footage from the area and questioning additional witnesses. At the same time, officers visited the knife attack victims in hospital to clarify possible links between the gun and knife assaults. Police stations in Nongprue and Pattaya launched a joint manhunt to identify and arrest all those involved, stressing that the youth gang responsible should be brought before the courts swiftly and decisively.