Police surrounded a house in Bang Lamung district on Wednesday night after an officer allegedly shot and killed his teacher wife at a kindergarten before barricading himself inside the property.
Officers installed lighting around the house in the Flower Park Villa 2 estate as negotiations continued late into the night. The suspect’s son, who is also a police officer, was reportedly travelling from southern Thailand to help persuade his father to surrender.
The shooting occurred at Nong Pla Lai Municipal School in Chon Buri’s Nong Pla Lai subdistrict at around 10:30am. Responding officers evacuated 44 frightened kindergarten pupils and six teachers and staff members from the premises.
The victim, identified as 48-year-old teacher Pailin Thongthat, was found dead in a passageway near the school canteen. She had suffered a gunshot wound to the back of her neck.
Pol Capt Manote Tipwet, deputy investigations inspector at Bang Lamung Police Station, identified the suspected gunman as Pol Sub Lt Tasapong Thongthat, a patrol officer stationed there and the victim’s husband.
Witness Somyot Sanguanworapong, 57, said he saw a man arrive by car and approach the teacher before speaking with her.
Moments later, he heard a gunshot, prompting others nearby to flee in fear. The attacker then returned to his vehicle and drove away.
However, a municipal official who requested anonymity offered a different account, claiming the officer approached his wife while carrying a gun and shot her without saying anything.
The suspect reportedly paused briefly to look at the victim before leaving, with the entire incident unfolding in approximately two minutes.
Teachers kept the children inside their classrooms for about 20 minutes because they feared the gunman might still be on the school grounds. The school was subsequently closed for the rest of the day.
Following the shooting, the suspect allegedly drove to his home around three kilometres from the kindergarten and refused to come out. Armed officers surrounded the property and continued attempting to negotiate his surrender.
Sources said the incident occurred only days after the couple attended their son’s wedding. The motive for the shooting was not immediately known.
Wednesday’s attack was the third shooting reported at a Thai school in just over a month. Seven people, including a 14-year-old gunman, died during an attack at Debsirin Nonthaburi School on August 7. The teenager had reportedly killed his grandparents before going to the school.
In a separate incident on September 2, police detained another 14-year-old boy after he entered a secondary school in Kamphaeng Phet and fired several shots. A security guard suffered a minor injury after being grazed by a bullet.
