A determined thief realized the exhausting way that toy weapons aren’t very effective in carrying out armed robberies, particularly when the intended sufferer is packing real heat. At 12:15 am on July 11, Pol Lt Col Prayong Khotsakha, an Inspector with Udon Thani’s Muang District Police, received a report of an tried theft at a small gas station in Tambon Nakham, about 17 kilometers out of town alongside the highway from Udon Thani to Sakhon Nakhon. Arriving on the scene with fellow officers, he found a critically-injured man lying beneath a dark blue Honda motorbike, with a single .22 caliber bullet wound to the left aspect of his chest. Beside him on the highway was a reproduction gun. Later identified as 29-year-old Wiwat Santiwattanakul. whose first title means “Peace” and whose surname means “Clan of the Peaceful and Prosperous”, the injured man was rushed to Udon Thani Central Hospital. The fuel station proprietor, 59-year-old Somchai Thongnarong, told police that considered one of his pump attendants, 25-year-old Phichit Channarong, had additionally been shot in the robbery attempt and had been rushed to hospital earlier. K. Somchai mentioned he closed up the two-pump station as ordinary that evening at 10 pm, turning out the lights and retiring inside the workplace with his wife. Sleeping on a cot outside, in entrance of the pumps, was K. Pichit – presumably to watch over the pumps or service any late-night motorists who desperately need gasoline after the official closing time. He had with him a shoulder bag. K. Somchai recounted, “I was awoken suddenly by the sound of Phichit screaming, ‘Help! It’s a robbery!’” Sliding open the window of the workplace, K. Somchai saw his trusty employee grappling with the robber, the pair spinning in circles, each attempting to get management of the shoulder bag. Nearby on a motorbike sat two more thugs, armed with knives and watching the proceedings. “As soon as they saw me through the window, they raised their knives and started towards me. But they stopped of their tracks once I let off a warning shot,” he stated. But the warning shot did not deter the third thief from trying to steal the shoulder bag, and his battle with K. Phichit continued. “That’s when Undiscovered took purpose and fired. But my shot hit K. Pichit within the arm and he fell to the bottom. “After that, the assailant pulled out his own gun and trained his sights on me. But I fired first, hitting him within the chest,” he stated. They say there’s honor amongst thieves, but on this night time it was apparently in brief supply. Rather than help their wounded comrade, the 2 knife-wielding accomplices jumped on their motorbike and sped off. Wiwat, the man of peace, tried to do the same. Despite having a bullet lodged in his chest, he got on his motorcycle, cash bag finally in his possession, and commenced to drive off. He didn’t get far, however, before losing his stability and falling to the highway. K. Somchai, who had been operating the station for many years, said he bought the gun after he was robbed of 5,000 baht in money and a mobile phone throughout an identical assault in June 2003. He had already used the weapon to fend o