Three dead in Thai court shooting, including ex-PM Yingluck Shinawatra’s old lawyer
- The gunman – a former police officer – and two lawyers were killed, one of whom had represented Yingluck in 2017
- Thailand has high rates of gun ownership and petty personal disputes; romantic and business rivalries are often resolved with bullets
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Three people were killed in a shoot-out at a Thai courtroom on Tuesday during a hearing into an inheritance dispute, according to police, who said two of the victims were lawyers.
The gunman opened fire on the opposing side in the dispute in Chanthaburi provincial court, before a guard shot back and fatally wounded him.
National police office spokesman Krissana Pattanacharoen said three people including the assailant were confirmed dead, while others were injured in the melee.
“Two are lawyers, another one is the shooter,” he said, adding that they are still investigating why the courtroom feud turned deadly.
The gunman, identified as former police officer Tharin Chantharathip, and his accusers had been locked in several disputes for years, including a civil suit related to land and other criminal cases, said Suriya Hongwilai, a spokesman for the Court of Justice.
“When the judge left the courtroom, the defendant did the unexpected,” Suriya said.
Gruesome images of the bloody courtroom scene, some 250 kilometres (155 miles) southeast of Bangkok, circulated on social media.
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But the incident is the latest in a series of high-profile courthouse shootings that have exposed flaws in the legal system’s security.
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In October, a Thai judge in the insurgency-battered south shot himself in the chest in front of a packed court after acquitting several murder suspects and decrying the judicial system in an impassioned speech.
Additional reporting by Reuters
