Bangkok, July 11 (IANS): At least eight persons were killed in a shooting by gunmen inside a village chief’s home in Thailand, the police said.
The shooting took place on late Monday in the southern province of Krabi, which is popular with tourists, BBC reported on Tuesday.
The police said three others, including two girls, suffered serious injuries after the group of about six men stormed the house of Vorayuth Sangklang, a village head in Ban Klang, over a “personal dispute”.
The gunmen, who wore military-style clothing, reportedly gained entry to the house by posing as officials who wanted to check on illegal activity, the Bangkok Post reported.
They demanded to search the house and held those in the home, including the chief, captive for several hours before shooting them and fleeing in a car.
An official told the Khao Sot news website that the village chief had “many disputes” in the area.
The police said they were alerted about the massacre around 1.30 a.m. after which they found five people dead at the home while three others, including the village chief, showed signs of life before they were rushed to the hospital, where they died. Many in Thailand own guns and the country has a high gun-related homicide rate, but mass organised shootings are considered rare in the country.
