Policeman Shoots Teacher Wife Dead At Kindergarten In Banglamung
CHONBURI, Thailand – A policeman shot his teacher wife to death while she was at work at a kindergarten in Banglamung district on Wednesday, in the third shooting to take place at a Thai school in just over a month. The killing occurred at Nong Pla Lai municipal school in tambon Nong Pla Lai at 10.30am, prompting police to rush to the scene where they found 44 frightened kindergarteners and six teachers and staff and proceeded to evacuate them.
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The body of the 48-year-old victim, identified as Pailin Thongthat, lay in the passage of the school canteen, having been shot in the back of the neck. An eyewitness, 57-year-old Somyot Sanguanworapong, reported seeing a man arrive in a car, approach the teacher and speak with her before hearing a gunshot, after which others fled in fear while the gunman returned to his vehicle and drove away. Teachers kept their students in their classrooms for approximately 20 minutes, fearing that the gunman might remain on the premises.
Police identified the gunman as Pol Sub Lt Tasapong Thongthat, a patrol policeman at Banglamung station, who returned to his house about three kilometres from the school and hid there. Armed officers from Banglamung police station, led by station chief Pol Col Sarawoot Nuchanat, surrounded the house in Flower Park Villa 2 housing estate and were attempting to persuade him to surrender. The motive for the shooting was not yet known, and the school was closed for the remainder of the day.
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Wednesday’s incident marks the third shooting at a school in Thailand in just over a month. On 7 August, a rampage at Debsirin Nonthaburi School left seven people dead, including the 14-year-old gunman, who had earlier shot his grandparents to death. On 2 September, a 14-year-old boy, the son of a policeman, was detained after entering a secondary school in Kamphaeng Phet and firing off several shots, with a security guard grazed by one of the bullets. The latest tragedy has renewed concerns over school safety and the prevalence of firearms in the country, as authorities continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the killing.
-Thailand News (TN)
