Thailand policeman held after shooting wife at kindergarten

A police officer accused of killing his wife at a Thailand kindergarten surrendered after an overnight siege. The case has sharpened alarm over school safety and gun violence in the country.

In Short

• All 44 students and teachers were evacuated safely after the violence
• Police surrounded the suspect's home, ending an 18-hour standoff on Thursday
• Classes at the kindergarten were suspended until Friday as a precaution

A police officer accused of shooting dead his wife at the kindergarten where she taught in eastern Thailand surrendered on Thursday after an overnight standoff with authorities, officials said. The case has added to concerns over school safety and gun violence in the country.

Officials said all 44 students at the school were safe and were evacuated along with other teachers after the shooting. Classes were suspended until Friday as a precaution.

According to the Chonburi provincial government, Tatsapong Tongthat, an officer at the Bang Lamung police station, allegedly shot his wife late on Wednesday morning inside a building at the Nongplalai Municipal Kindergarten, about 150 km southeast of Bangkok.

Authorities said he fled to his home after the shooting. Police then surrounded the house, where he stayed until surrendering after an 18-hour standoff.

School safety and gun violence in Thailand have come under scrutiny after a 14-year-old opened fire at his high school and family home on August 7, killing eight people and injuring more than 20 before apparently taking his own life. Another 14-year-old student was arrested on September 2 after firing several shots at his school in Kamphaeng Phet province, about 200 km north of Bangkok, but no one was injured.

Calls for tighter firearm controls have grown, and the national government has ordered a review of gun regulations, including a suspension on new permits to buy firearms and a review of existing permits. Thailand has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in Asia despite fairly restrictive gun laws, and while mass shootings remain rare, the country has seen an increase in high-profile attacks in recent years.

The latest case ended with the officer’s surrender after an overnight standoff, while students and staff at the kindergarten were evacuated safely and classes were suspended as a precaution.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends