A senior police officer was shot dead following a standoff during a hostage crisis in the Bang Bon district of Bangkok, Thai media reported.
The incident occurred in the morning off Jul. 21, following a police report that a man had taken his children hostage at a shophouse.
Thai PBS reported that the suspect's family consisted of seven people — himself, his wife and five children.
At the time of the incident, two of the children had been locked in the shophouse.
The man, a 49-year-old named Boonma, also died in the confrontation, although the police did not disclose if he had taken his own life with a pistol or was shot by the police, according to The Nation Thailand.
Daughter hit in the face with a firearm
According to the Bangkok Post, the senior police officer, Kittichon Janyarom, 59, and his team had approached the shophouse to begin negotiations.
However, Boonma opened fire, shooting Janyarom three times.
The Thaiger reported that he was shot multiple times in the chest and left hand.
Janyarom's subordinate police officer was also slightly injured in the shooting.
The police were eventually able to rescue Boonma's two children from the shophouse, although details of the rescue were not reported.
One of his two children, a daughter, was found to have been struck in the face with a firearm.
Boonma was found dead following a gun battle with the police, which also saw them throwing three tear canisters into the house.
Reportedly threatened to hurt rescue workers when sent to psychiatric care
Boonma's rescued daughter revealed that her father possessed four guns in total, including a shotgun, along with ammunition.
She was also quoted by The Thaiger as saying that her father had mental health issues and had not taken his medication or received treatment for around a year.
Meanwhile, a Bang Bon district rescue worker who was at the scene of the standoff said Boonma had previously threatened to use a firearm on rescue workers who were attempting to convey him to the hospital for psychiatric care.
However, he eventually complied at that time.
Top screenshot via Thai PBS YouTube
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