A desperate Thai teenager shot his father eight times after allegedly suffering years of brutal abuse.

The boy, 15, opened fire at Choksan Klangsawat, 51, using the dad's own pistol at their home in Buriram, Thailand, on June 18.

His hand trembled as he unleashed successive shots at the abusive father standing outside the house. Only one of the bullets hit, seriously injuring Choksan when it lodged into his right armpit.

Police arrived at the scene after receiving reports of gunfire in the neighbourhood at around 7:45 pm. They found Choksan bleeding heavily from the wound while lying on the ground.

Footage shows him crying in pain as he was strapped onto a rescue board. He was rushed to the Buriram Hospital in serious condition.

Police Colonel Wachirawit Wanthanee, superintendent of Lam Plai Mat Police Station, said the teenager - named only as 'A' - allegedly admitted to the shooting, believed to have been triggered by years of physical abuse.

The resentful youngster said: 'I had been holding it in for years. My father started hurting me when I was just eight, slapping, punching, and kicking me constantly. I have been living with the abuse for eight years. No one ever helped me.

'Before I shot him, he beat me again in front of my mother. Out of anger, I went upstairs to get his gun and loaded it with bullets like I learned in YouTube tutorials.

'Then, I ran downstairs and fired at him. I don't know how many shots hit. I just kept shooting until there were no bullets left. I only know that he tried to run away.

'I admit that I am sad, but I did it because I felt there was no other way out.'

A's grandmother Noi, 63, said Choksan had married her daughter and had four children together. A was the eldest, and the sole child who was always beaten.

Confirming the vile abuse, Noi said: 'My son-in-law has been assaulting his own child for no reason since the boy was little. Even though we tried to stop him, he would just ignore us.

'The boy suffered terrible injuries: a broken eyebrow, a head wound, and once, his father kicked him in the mouth so hard his teeth came loose and he couldn't eat for a week. Another time, he punched him in the eye so hard he was nearly blinded.'

The elderly woman said A had approached her 10 days ago asking: 'Why is my life so painful? Would it be a grave sin if I killed someone?'

She said she immediately understood his intent and tried to dissuade him, but the shooting still happened.

Police said the teenager was detained at the police station, and no formal charges have been filed because he was a minor.

Police Colonel Wachirawit said: 'The firearm we found was a black Sig Sauer P320SP 9mm automatic pistol. We must first investigate who the gun belonged to.

‘As for the case, we have not pressed charges yet because we must coordinate with the prosecutor and multidisciplinary officers to join in the questioning, because the suspect was a youth.'

Thailand has one of the highest gun ownership and gun homicide rates among Southeast Asian nations.

Though Thai authorities have vowed to tighten gun control, there are around 4 million unregistered guns, often smuggled from war-torn countries, in circulation, the Ministry of Interior said in 2023.