Knife-wielding man sparks chaos: Teacher’s husband fires warning shots southeast Thailand

A mentally unstable man caused chaos in a Thai neighbourhood when he brandished a knife, injuring a resident before threatening a female teacher. The teacher’s husband, a police officer, fired warning shots to subdue the man.

The incident happened this morning at 7am local time, at a side street near Prasert petrol station, Pattawee sub-district, Makham district, Chanthaburi province.

After receiving the report of a man wielding a knife and a gun, Deputy Inspector Rakchat Nuanchareon of Makham Police Station and a rescue team from Sawang Ketanyu Foundation in Chanthaburi rushed to the scene.

The knife-wielding man was found sitting on a concrete wall of a resident’s house, still holding a knife and appearing agitated. He had two dogs tethered to him. The injured local had already been taken to the hospital by the rescue team.

A woman, later identified as the wife of the victim, stood poised with a short firearm, pointing it towards the knife-wielding man while awaiting police reinforcements, fearing he might attack other locals. Earlier, she had fired a similar handgun, injuring the man’s leg to halt his attack.

Upon arrival, the police surrounded the knife-wielding man and apprehended him following standard procedures. He was then taken to Makham Hospital for treatment. A spent bullet casing was found at the scene, which was photographed and kept as evidence.

The 50 year old knife-wielding man was named Ratchapol (surname withheld).

Earlier that day, he had arrived on a motorcycle with his daughter and two dogs, intending to gather vegetables nearby. The incident began when one of the dogs defecated in front of a house belonging to Charlie (surname withheld), the injured local.

When Charlie asked Ratchapol to clean up the mess, an argument ensued which escalated into a physical confrontation, resulting in Charlie being stabbed.

A relative of Charlie’s, known only as A (assumed name), who is a local school teacher, arrived at the scene with her husband, a police officer. They tried to intervene but the knife-wielding man attempted to attack them, prompting the teacher to retrieve her husband’s gun from their vehicle and fire a warning shot, which hit the man’s leg.

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