Murder 101: lessons in killing

PHITSANULOKE: Region 6 police apprehended three members of a five-man gang in Phitsanuloke province who shot and killed at least three people and injured several others in at least 10 shooting incidents in Phichit and Phitsanuloke provinces. Among their victims were teachers, military personnel, secondary school students and even a little girl. In confessing to the shootings, the suspects – Aphiwat Maijareorn, 29, Nattapon Khunchey, 19, and Atsaphawut Reuchupanai, 19 – remained impassive, one telling investigators that they weren’t shooting innocent people to create media publicity or as a form of competition, but simply wanted to make sure that the new AK-47 they had bought was working properly and needed targets to test them. Police seized from the men an AK-47 with 18 rounds of ammunition, an unregistered semi-automatic .22-caliber handgun, two machetes and three motorcycles. The gang’s most recent target practice took place on March 10 at a village in Phichit. Using the AK-47 and a shotgun, the gang shot and killed 19-year-old Chatree Wisetsombat and injured three others, one of them a 13-year-old girl. The remaining two gang members are still at large.