Authorities are seeking to arrest the son of a Royal Cambodian Armed Forces official after he allegedly used his father’s gun to shoot and wound a man after an argument in Phnom Penh’s Sen Sok district on Sunday night.

Chey Vannak, who is believed to be 20, is the son of Colonel Chey Sary, who works at the Royal Military Academy in the capital’s Russei Keo district.

Authorities allege that Vannak got into an argument with four young men at about 9:30pm while he played snooker in Teuk Thla commune’s Ou Bek Ka’orm village.

“[Vannak] got into a verbal dispute with a group of young people at the snooker shop and became angry with them,” San Chenda, a police officer in Teuk Thal commune, said.

“He then ran into his house nearby, took his father’s AK-47 rifle, and fired two shots at them, injuring a young man’s right hand.

“After the shooting, Vannak fled the scene.”

Because the gun used in the shooting was a military weapon, the Sen Sok district military police as well as the civil police are investigating the incident.

Sok Otdom, deputy commander of Sen Sok military police, said officers in his district are working hard to arrest the accused gunman.

Vannak and his father could not be reached for comment.

The victim and his family also could not be contacted.

To contact the reporter on this story: Buth Reaksmey Kongkea at [email protected]