Bangkok Tollway Shooter Nabbed on Koh Chang After 48-Hour Hunt

In the small hours between Bangkok’s dawn traffic and Koh Chang’s sunset ferries, police traced a deadly episode of road-rage across 450 km of highways, toll plazas and coastal roads. By nightfall, the fugitive was in cuffs, and a routine commute had morphed into a national conversation about guns, anger and the safety of Thailand’s busiest expressways.

Quick snapshot for busy readers

• Shooter arrested on Koh Chang after 48-hour manhunt.

• Victim, a 34-year-old ride-hailing driver, was killed moments after paying an expressway toll.

• Suspect nicknamed "Kan Vellfire" has a prior attempted-murder warrant and other criminal history.

• Police recovered the alleged 9 mm handgun hidden in island bushland.

• Case rekindles debate over firearm access and expressway safety.

From Bangkok gridlock to an island hide-out

The hunt began before sunrise when motorists on the Si Rat elevated road heard three sharp cracks near the Prachachuen toll station. Within minutes commuter lanes were sealed, yet the gunman—driving a white Toyota Vellfire—slipped west toward Nakhon Pathom. Investigators say he ditched the van at a riverside hotel, swapped to a series of taxis, then headed down the Eastern Seaboard. By the time holidaymakers were ordering seafood in Trat, he had checked into a Koh Chang guesthouse under a false name.

Bangkok detectives paired with Region 2 officers to comb the island, famous for its jungle peaks and sunset bars. They zeroed in on a rented room near Klong Prao Beach; a swift entry ended the chase without a shot fired. Mobile-phone pings, CCTV toll data and an overlooked parking-receipt thread stitched the route together, according to an officer involved in the operation.

How an expressway merge turned lethal

Witnesses told police the victim’s Honda Civic was nudged when the Vellfire cut across lanes about 500 m before the toll gates. Both vehicles crawled through adjacent booths. Cameras show the van pausing just beyond the barrier, waiting. As the sedan pulled level, two rounds shattered its side window. One bullet tore through the driver’s right arm; the second severed his carotid artery. He never left the driver’s seat.

Expressways are designed to separate fast-moving traffic from city congestion, yet incidents of rage-fueled violence have escalated in recent years. While national road-safety campaigns focus on drink-driving, criminologists note that easy pistol access—legal and gray-market—has become a combustible mix with Bangkok’s competitive driving culture.

A suspect well known to police files

The man now facing charges, 37-year-old Songkran Panpu, carried the street moniker "Kan Vellfire" long before Tuesday’s shooting. Court documents reveal an outstanding attempted-murder warrant from 2024 in Chon Buri plus a past rape indictment that was ultimately dismissed. After finishing a short prison term last year, he posted cryptic notes on social media about "making a fresh start." Taxi drivers who ferried him during the getaway say he repeatedly mentioned he had "just walked out of jail."

Investigators are probing whether the Vellfire is linked to illicit hire-car rings that skirt insurance regulations by running luxury vans on ride platforms under multiple shell companies—a practice police dub the "grey-fleet" sector.

The escape route: four provinces, two kids and one buried gun

Police have pieced together a timeline that reads like an inter-provincial relay:

Bangkok: shooting at 04:50, van flees toward Pinklao-Nakhon Chai Si.

Nakhon Pathom: vehicle abandoned, fingerprints and a single 9 mm casing recovered.

Chon Buri & Rayong: suspect meets a friend, picks up wife and two young children, hires a rental car.

Trat: family disembarks; suspect charters a speedboat to the island.

Officers say Songkran led them to a thicket above Kai Bae where the alleged murder weapon, a Glock-style pistol, was wrapped in plastic and buried under leaf litter.

Legal path ahead—and why it matters to every driver

The Criminal Court has approved multiple counts: premeditated murder, attempted murder, illegal firearm possession, and discharging a weapon in public. Conviction on the primary charge alone can lead to life imprisonment or the death penalty, though Thailand increasingly commutes capital sentences.

Legal scholars argue the case exposes loopholes in firearm licensing. Semi-automatic handguns require proof of specific need, yet black-market prices—often below ฿40,000—put them within reach of anyone willing to skirt the law.

For daily commuters, the takeaway is less abstract: Thailand’s expressways, despite improving accident stats, remain high-stress corridors. The Department of Highways is studying dash-cam integration with emergency hotlines, while toll-road operator EXAT plans additional CCTV analytics to flag erratic driving in real time.

Tourist island reputation at stake

Koh Chang’s economy revolves around 1.8 M annual visitors, and local businesses were quick to emphasise the rarity of violent crime. Police have already expanded the island’s Safety Zone programme—extra patrols, 24-hour tourist-assistance booths and random vehicle checks at ferry piers.

Trat’s provincial governor told reporters the arrest "underscores, rather than undermines," security, arguing that the swift capture shows law-enforcement reach even in remote areas.

Driving smart: five reminders before you hit the tollway

• Keep a safe merge gap; horn use easily escalates tension.

• Install a dual-lens dash cam—evidence cuts investigation time in half.

• Program the EXAT hotline 1543 for immediate accident or threat reporting.

• If followed aggressively, exit at the nearest service area with CCTV and people.

• Remember Thai law treats brandishing any weapon from a vehicle as firearms in public—penalties apply even without shots fired.

Bangkok’s roads may never shed their reputation for impatience, but authorities hope the visibility of this case—and the dramatic island arrest—will remind drivers that a moment’s anger can echo far beyond the toll-gate beeps.