Jeremy Renner Party Attacked, Friend Stabbed With Ax in Thailand Bar Brawl

Rep assures E! News actor is "not injured," "not involved" in pub fight that left a member of his party in serious condition overseas

By Gina Serpe Jan 05, 2012 5:07 PMTags
Jeremy RennerJim Spellman/WireImage

First the good news: despite earlier reports to the contrary, a rep for Jeremy Renner tells E! News that the actor did not suffer any injuries—minor or otherwise—when a bar brawl broke out in a Phuket, Thailand, pub last night. The horrible news: a member of the party he was traveling with was left in serious condition.

The Mission: Impossible—Ghost Protocol star nearly found himself in the middle of a brutal bar brawl when six staffers of the resort town's Rachada Pub attacked his party, with one of the attackers horrifically wielding a homemade rotor ax during the fight.

Here's what happened…

"He was at the bar when the fight broke out and he exited," the star's rep confirmed to E! News, adding that he was "not injured" and "not involved" in the attack. Renner is currently in the area, however, working on the new Bourne franchise film in Manila.

According to the Phuket Gazette, the 31-year-old actor was traveling in a party of six: in addition to another man and two women, he was also accompanied by a driver and the general manager of the Sri Panwa Resort, Vorasit Issara.

The fight reportedly broke out around 4:30 a.m. after Issara dropped a glass on the floor of the pub, the third they had visited that night. No further details were provided, including any other events or altercations that led to the fight, but the action was reportedly preceded by a verbal argument and ultimately caused a brawl to break out, leading six pub employees—ranging in age from 18 to 33—to rush the party.

Among the weapons confiscated by police were a variety of clubs and cutting instruments and, most disturbingly, a homemade ax made from a motorcycle brake rotor.

Issara was most critically injured in the fight, getting stabbed in the stomach by 26-year-old Suchart "Ball" Palae, as well as taking the ax to his neck by 18-year-old Nareubate "Ko" Tednok.

According to investigating officers with the Phuket City Police, who held a press conference with the six attackers, Issara remains in the hospital with serious stomach wounds, partially severed neck tendons and bruises covering his body.

All six men have since confessed to the attack and been charged with attempted murder.