Pursued by officers, he kills himself
On Monday night, a former school director fatally shot his ex-wife, her new husband, her mother, and one more person at a home in Si Ka Ket province.
In nearby Buri Ram province, he later committed suicide while attempting to flee police custody.
Around 9.32 p.m., according to police, the wild attack took place at a house in the Muang district of Si Sa Ket’s tambon Nong Phai.
Two people were shot dead in front of the house, and two more bodies were discovered inside by emergency personnel. Duangduan Kokaphan, 41, the head of Si Sa Ket’s Non Ipang Phonwua School, was residing in the home. She was among those slain.  ,
The three other victims were Duangduan’s new lawyer husband Poramat Saman, 39, her mother Yokmanee Kokaphan, 66 and Mrs Yokmanee’s brother-in-law Bunluen Apaiphong, 61.  ,
A 10-year-old boy also in the house fled to safety, calling for help from neighbours.
Police identified the gunman as Pathaphee Meebang, 42,  , the former, resigned director of Phanomrung School in Buri Ram and Duangduan’s former husband. ( continues below )
Pathaphee Meebang, 42, a former school director in Buri Ram, shot himself dead during , police pursuit after killing his ex-wife, her new husband and two others in Si Sa Ket.
Locals claimed that jealousy was likely the cause of the murders.  , Police were still questioning relatives of the victims.
According to a police source, Duangduan allegedly remarried just two months ago, according to family members. Her ex-husband had seized control of the home and threatened to murder her and her family if they refused to leave.  ,
Si Sa Ket police informed the chief of the Prakhon Chai police station in Buri Ram, Pol Col Wissanu Arphonpong, that the killer was heading his way. He ordered teams to detach him.
About 11.30pm on Monday, police spotted the suspect’s Honda City car, which had Surin plates, on a secondary road in tambon Paisarn in Prakhon Chai district.
They gave chase, signalling the driver to stop. Instead, he sped off.  ,  ,
The fugitive car was stopped by the police at Pinthong intersection in Tambon Paisarn, and the driver was given the ultimatum to leave.  ,
According to police, there was no respnose. A gunshot was audible inside the car about a minute later.
Police arrived in time to check and discovered the driver had died. He was identified as the fugitive, Pathaphee. He had shot himself in the left side of his chest, using a shotgun, police said.
Pol Maj Gen Rutthaphon Naowarat, chief of Buri Ram police, said the gun Pathaphee used to kill himself was registered.
Three more guns, all registered, were discovered during a search of his home in the Prakhon Chai district of tambon Nong Bon, according to Pol Maj Gen Rutthaphon.
Si Sa Ket police were handling the investigation, he said.
Police find three more guns at the killer’s house in Buri Ram on Tuesday. ( Photo: Surachai Piragsa )
the three firearms discovered during the search. ( Photo: Surachai Piragsa )