PHUKET: Two people were injured when a male passenger fired two shots on a minibus on the Phuket-Phatthalung route yesterday morning before taking his own life.
The shooting happened at Khuan Din Daeng curve on Thepkasattri Road in tambon Koh Kaew of Muang district at 6.49am, about one kilometre from the Phuket bus terminal from which the bus had just departed.
Police received a report that a Thai man, aged about 30, had let off shots while still on the bus.
According to witnesses, two gunshots were heard before passengers rushed to get off.
The injured — a man and a woman — were among nine passengers on board. Rescue workers sent them to Mission Hospital Phuket.
Bus driver Somyos Buakaew, 42, told police the gunman was sitting in the middle of the bus before he walked to the rear and opened fire. He then returned to his seat.
The gunman remained on the bus as some 30 policemen were deployed to handle the incident.
Roads within a kilometre radius of the scene were closed off as police negotiated with the shooter for about four hours.
Officers later fired tear gas into the vehicle. The man, an ex-soldier from Krabi identified as Nawin Chuaykiang, shot himself around 11.10am, police said.