Chumphon man shoots girlfriend and kills himself in Phuket

A 56 year old man from Chumphon shot his girlfriend, resulting in her injury, following their breakup in a house in Wichit on a recent night, before taking his own life with a gunshot to the head.

The violence occurred at a home in Wichit, where local police were called to respond at around 10pm. Upon their arrival along with rescue workers from the Kusoldharm Foundation, a crowd of residents had gathered in front of the house.

Inside, the 57 year old female resident was found sitting at the dining table suffering from a bullet graze on her face. First aid was provided before she was taken to Bangkok Hospital Phuket for further treatment. The dead Chumphon man was discovered on the floor with a gunshot wound to his right temple, and police estimated that he had been dead at least 20 minutes before their arrival. His body was taken to Vachira Phuket Hospital for a post-mortem examination.

A .357-calibre revolver, which had been fired three times, was found in the living area. Bullet holes were discovered in the sofa and a window. Additionally, two cans of beer and one bottle of wine cooler were found on the table. The injured woman said that she and the Chumphon man had been school friends and started dating after both had separated from their partners.

The man arrived at the woman’s house with alcohol, expecting to have dinner before she informed him she wanted to be just friends and asked him to give her notice before future visits. Subsequently, he became angry and declared that if they couldn’t be together, they should die together. He retrieved a gun from his car and proceeded to try to shoot her in the leg, but the bullet ended up on the sofa instead. He shot at her again, grazed her face, and then fired at his right temple.

The woman called out to her daughter for help, who was present in her bedroom on the second floor of the house, which led to the police being alerted.

For those in need of emotional support and counselling, the Samaritans of Thailand can be contacted on their 24-hour hotline at 02-113-6789 (English & Thai), or the Thai Mental Health Hotline at 1323 (Thai).