Rescuer Threatened with Gun While Assisting Drowning Victim
A rescue worker in Nonthaburi was threatened with a gun by the friend of a drowning victim who accused the responders of being slow to help. After the rescuer and his teammate managed to place the victim in an ambulance, the friend returned, pointed a firearm at the rescuer’s face and fired a warning shot into the air. The rescuer filed a police report at Chaiyakhrueang Police Station and said he would pursue the case fully.
On October 19, 2026, 25‑year‑old rescue worker Kan from the Sai Ma Municipal Office in Nonthaburi told reporters that he was threatened with a gun while responding to a drowning emergency in Soi Thao It 1, Pak Kret. He said he and a female teammate arrived to find a motionless person in a pool of water, with the victim’s girlfriend and a friend nearby. After trying to lift the victim alone and failing, he asked the friend for help, but the friend, saying he was drunk, refused, shouted abusive remarks accusing the rescuers of being slow, then walked away. Kan and his teammate eventually placed the victim on a stretcher and into the ambulance, but the friend returned, raised his gun, pointed it at Kan’s face, fired a warning shot into the air, and continued to threaten him despite the girlfriend’s attempts to stop him. Kan performed a wai gesture, asking the man to calm down, until the victim regained consciousness and said he could not breathe, at which point the gunman waved the gun away and urged Kan to drive off quickly. Kan said he had never experienced such an incident during his service, noted that relatives of injured or deceased persons sometimes cause a disturbance, admitted he was frightened, and confirmed he had filed a police report at the Chaiyakhrueang Police Station and would pursue the case to the fullest extent.
