Pattani—
At 6:30 PM, on May 7th, 2024, Nong Chik police officers received a mass shooting incident report at a football field in Nong Chik, Pattani, resulting in two casualties and two injuries.
The Nong Chik police and relevant agencies were dispatched to the incident scene. They found two bodies of Mr. Cherdchai Promradkaew, a 56-year-old Permanent Secretary of the Subdistrict Administrative Organization who was shot at his head twice, and Mr. Sittichai Petchsuriya, a 47-year-old village headman who was shot at his torso twice.
Furthermore, two other individuals suffered serious injuries including Mr. Natthasak Sriyan, a 38-year-old Subdistrict Administrative Organization official who was shot in his knee, and Mr. Makoseng, a 59-year-old street vendor who was shot in his chest.
The forensic police found many M16 bullet shells and collected them as evidence. Upon initial investigation, the victims were found to have just finished their football match and had taken a break. Suddenly, four suspects in two motorbikes arrived at the football field and walked behind Cherdchai before allegedly shooting him in the head twice.
The situation was chaotic as many people nearby went into a panic while the suspects allegedly committed the mass shooting causing two casualties and two serious injuries. The suspects also allegedly shot at the sky to prevent officials’ intervention before zooming off from the scene.
After the incident, relevant agencies secured the area in a 500-meter radius and coordinated with police checkpoints to search and inspect suspicious individuals. Initially, the police officers reportedly assumed that the shooting incident was to cause chaos in the three southern border provinces by a group of southern insurgents.
No suspects were arrested as of press time, noted TPN.
