A general who sided with anti-government protesters was shot in the head during an interview with the New York Times. The general had enemies on both sides of the Thai political crisis, siding against the government but also providing a paramilitary security force (known for their black shirts) to protect the protesters and allegedly orchestrating a series of bombings.

“I deny!” he cried in English, with a laugh, when asked in an interview on Sunday about the dozens of bombings that have set Bangkok on edge and about the mysterious black-shirted killers who escalated the violence on April 10 that killed 26 soldiers and civilians. “No one ever saw me.”

The military, which has held back from clearing out the protesters for fear of bloodshed, now appeared ready to crack down. The general’s last words before being shot were, “The military cannot get in here.”