Police besiege gunman in Thailand who killed at least 2

Police in Thailand have cordoned off a neighborhood in a city south of the capital where they have trapped a gunman inside his house after he shot dead at least two people and wounded several others

Thailand Shooting (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Police in Thailand said Wednesday they have cordoned off a neighborhood in a city southwest of the capital where they have trapped a gunman inside his house after he shot dead at least two people and wounded several others.

Thai television showed images of police taking positions on a quiet street in Phetchaburi, about 170 kilometers (105 miles) southwest of Bangkok, some carrying weapons and others with protective shields.

Police Maj. Punyapon Srimaek, speaking from the scene, told The Associated Press two people had been confirmed killed in the incident, which began early Wednesday afternoon. He said one of the three people believed to be wounded might actually be dead because although his body could be seen by a police drone in front of the gunman’s house, it could not be retrieved because it was in the line of fire.

The two other injured people, one a local official who rushed to the site when he was notified of the shooting, were taken to a hospital.

Local police evacuated children from nearby schools and surrounded the gunman’s house while waiting for specially trained officers to arrive to try to resolve the situation, as the gunman sporadically fired at them.

The police Central Investigation Bureau on its Facebook page identified the suspect as Anuwat Waentong, 29. Thai media reported that he had been due to make a court appearance Wednesday on a drug charge.

The incident came just a week after a standoff in Bangkok in which a police lieutenant colonel shot a gun into the air as he resisted police efforts to detain him, holding off his fellow officers for 27 hours. The officer, who was said to have suffered from mental stress, died in a hospital after being shot by police who stormed into the house where he had been holed up.