Bangkok: six dead in market shooting; attacker commits suicide

BANGKOK: At least six people, including five security guards, were killed when a gunman opened fire at a market in the city on Monday before taking his own life, Thai police said.

Deputy Commissioner Charin Gopatta of the Metropolitan Police Bureau confirmed the gunman was among the dead. Authorities are investigating his identity and motive, police said in a statement.

The attack occurred at a market in Bangkok’s Bang Sue district, which primarily sells agricultural produce. No tourists were harmed, said district police official Sanong Saengmani, a critical detail for Thailand, where tourism drives the economy.

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Surveillance footage released by police showed the suspect, wearing a white hat and a chest-strapped backpack, walking through the market’s parking lot before the shooting.

Thailand has struggled with gun violence in recent years. In October 2023, a 14-year-old armed with a modified pistol killed two and wounded five at a Bangkok luxury mall. A year earlier, a former police officer massacred 36 people, including 22 children, at a nursery in eastern Thailand.