A decided thief realized the onerous method that toy weapons are not very effective in carrying out armed robberies, especially when the intended victim is packing real warmth. 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 robbery at a small gas station in Tambon Nakham, about 17 kilometers out of city along the highway from Udon Thani to Sakhon Nakhon. Arriving on the scene with fellow officers, he discovered a critically-injured man lying beneath a dark blue Honda motorcycle, with a single .22 caliber bullet wound to the left aspect of his chest. Beside him on the highway was a duplicate gun. Later recognized 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 gasoline station proprietor, 59-year-old Somchai Thongnarong, advised police that one of his pump attendants, 25-year-old Phichit Channarong, had also been shot in the robbery attempt and had been rushed to hospital earlier. K. Somchai said he closed up the two-pump station as ordinary that night time at 10 pm, turning out the lights and retiring inside the office together with his spouse. Sleeping on a cot outside, in front of the pumps, was K. Pichit – presumably to watch over the pumps or service any late-night motorists who desperately need fuel after the official closing time. He had with him a shoulder bag. K. Somchai recounted, “I was awoken abruptly by the sound of Phichit screaming, ‘Help! It’s a robbery!’” Sliding open the window of the office, K. Somchai saw his trusty worker grappling with the robber, the pair spinning in circles, each making an attempt to get management of the shoulder bag. Nearby on a motorbike sat two more thugs, armed with knives and watching the proceedings. “As quickly as they noticed me through the window, they raised their knives and began towards me. But Reduced stopped in their tracks once I let off a warning shot,” he said. But the warning shot did not deter the third thief from trying to steal the shoulder bag, and his wrestle with K. Phichit continued. “That’s when I took goal and fired. But my shot hit K. Pichit in the arm and he fell to the bottom. “After that, the assailant pulled out his personal gun and educated his sights on me. But I fired first, hitting him in the chest,” he stated. They say there is honor among thieves, but on this night it was apparently in short supply. Rather than assist their wounded comrade, the two knife-wielding accomplices jumped on their motorcycle 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 motorbike, cash bag lastly in his possession, and commenced to drive off. He didn’t get far, nevertheless, earlier than shedding his steadiness and falling to the street. K. Somchai, who had been working the station for many years, stated he purchased the gun after he was robbed of 5,000 baht in cash and a mobile phone throughout a similar assault in June 2003. He had already used the weapon to fend o