Thai police shoot dead Phetchaburi gunman after 14 hour standoff, 3 dead, 3 injured

UPDATE

At 4am, SWAT police shot dead the ex-military ranger who went on a gun rampage yesterday killing three people and injuring three more in Petchaburi province in lower central Thailand.

Pol. Lt. Gen. Thanayut Wuthiratanayong said that after 14 hours of failed negotiations, the gunman showed no signs of surrender so the police took decisive action to kill him to prevent further loss of life. Officers took a soft-to-hard approach, said the officer.

When police tried to negotiate with 29 year old Anuwat, he fired shots back at them from the second floor of his house, said Pol. Lt. Gen. Thanayut. The SWAT team’s shields were hit by six bullets, damaging the shields but not penetrating through to cause injury.

The gunman turned off the lights, closed the curtains, and moved furniture to hide. However, police entered the house and killed Anuwat on the second floor at 4am. Police found a .9mm gun near his body.

Police suspect that the shooting started due to a rivalry between Anuwat and two male university students who moved into a house opposite his in November last year.

Anuwat allegedly fought with the young men who filed a lawsuit against him, the case going to court twice already. Yesterday, both parties were set to go to court for a third hearing, but Anuwat shot dead both plaintiffs before the appointment.

Excluding the gunman, three people were killed yesterday including 22 year old Pasit or “Oat” (gunman’s rival), 22 year old Rattakorn or “Belle” (gunman’s rival), 27 year old Siripat (parcel delivery driver).

A preliminary autopsy on the three victims found 30 gunshot wounds collectively.

The three injured victims include Kanoksak Mutthakarn, the Mayor of Ton Mamuang Subdistrict, who was shot in the cheek and ear, 36 year old Kritsada Sritha, who was shot once in the buttocks and Pol. Lt. Sommai Yaemyuan, a SWAT police officer, who was shot in his right cheek.

ORIGINAL STORY: Ex-military ranger opens fire in central Thailand, 2 dead 3 injured, standoff with police continues

A frenzied gunman who is an ex-military ranger opened fire in Phetchaburi province in lower central Thailand this afternoon, killing two people and injuring three more. Gunfire continues to erupt from the house where he is hiding in an ongoing standoff with police.

More than 40 young children have been evacuated from a nearby daycare centre.

Over 100 police officers have been deployed to the scene – a house in Soi 4, Krung Phet Villa Village, Ban Rai Kluai, Ton Mamuang subdistrict, Mueang district, Phetchaburi province, southwest of Bangkok.

Police were informed at 1.37pm that a gunman shot dead two people in the street in Soi 4 and injured three more people.

From inside his house, the gunman shot Kanoksak Mutthakarn, the Mayor of Ton Mamuang Subdistrict, injuring his cheek and ear. The mayor was taken to hospital for treatment.

At 3.40pm, police were able to retrieve the two bodies from the street and take an injured delivery driver to the hospital. The mayor and delivery driver’s injuries are not life-threatening, said police.

However, police have not yet been able to reach a third injured person due to “continuous gunfire” from the assailant, who police identified as 29 year old Anuwat.

Anuwat, an ex-military ranger, was set to attend court today to go on trial for his involvement in a drug case, police said.

The standoff continues.