Two Police Officers Killed in Gunfight with Suspect in Tak Bai
Two detectives were killed and three officers wounded in a gunfight with an armed suspect in Narathiwat's Tak Bai district; the suspect remains at large in a palm grove area.
A confrontation between Tak Bai Police investigative unit officers and a suspect resulted in the deaths of two detectives and injuries to three others. The suspect, a single male wearing only exercise pants and armed with a rifle, exploited his knowledge of the terrain to flee toward a palm grove behind the Phaiwuan Subdistrict Administrative Organization (Phaiwuan Tambon) in Tambon Phaiwuan, Amphoe Tak Bai, Narathiwat Province.
The two officers killed were identified as Police Sergeant Major Amran Ha and Police Lieutenant Withaya Chaipromkaew. The three wounded officers are Police Captain Traithat Kulsanthavasiri (grazed in the head), Police Lieutenant Wannuchit Saekho (shot in both legs), and Police First Sergeant Kittipong Seekham (grazed on the left torso). All injured officers have been transported to hospital.
Authorities comprising police, military, and administrative officials have cordoned off the area and established checkpoints along the border. Evidence collection units have been deployed to gather clues for the swift pursuit and arrest of the suspect.
