Air Force officer slightly wounded
The Royal Thai Air Force on Monday confirmed that one of its officers attending a joint military exercise in the US was injured in a shooting in a popular San Francisco tourist destination last week, which was followed by a car chase.
Two men were in detention for allegedly trying to rob the officer.
The Air Force did not name the officer, saying he was among a group of 45 personnel travelling to join the Red Flag Alaska in Alaska State between August 6 and 23. Accompanying them was a C130 aircraft.
The shooting happened on August 25 as the group and the aircraft stopped over in San Francisco on their way back to Thailand. The crew took opportunity to visit the city. The Thai Air Force said that during their sighseeing trip, a man snatched a camera of an Thai officer and ran away. The officer was chasing the robber when another suspect shot from a waiting car and the bullet hit his arm.
The victim was treated at a hospital and returned to Thailand with the team. They are scheduled to arrive in Bangkok on September 1.
The Thai Air Force also dismissed reports on social networking sites which criticised it of wasting a lot of money by sending officers and the C130 aircraft for pleasure in the US. It warned those who posted such groundless reports in the sites to stop doing or face legal action.
NBC Bay Area online reported on August 25 that two suspects had been arrested Tuesday following a shooting. The report said the arrest was made after the two suspects sped away from the shooting scene toward the freeway. San Francisco police pursued the suspects over the Bay Bridge with the assistance of the California Highway Patrol.
The website reported that they eventually got off the freeway and one of the suspects was taken into custody after the driver crashed in the 1000 block of 60th Street in Oakland. Streets were shut down in the area, near the Emeryville border, while police from multiple agencies searched for about three hours. The second suspect was later arrested.
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