One man was shot dead and another seriously wounded in a gun attack as they were riding a motorcycle home in Narathiwat’s Sungai Kolok district on Thursday night, said police.
The bullet-ridden body of Nirut Buesa, 20, was found lying in a pool of blood near his motorcycle on Saithong Road in tambon Sungai Kolok when a combined team of police and soldiers rushed to the scene at 7.40pm on Thursday.
The wounded man, identified as Noppadol Waeyalee, 38, was earlier rushed to a nearby hospital by local residents. He sustained serious gunshot wounds to his chest. Police found 10 spent cartridges from an M16 assault rifle scattered over the road.
According to a police investigation, the two victims were travelling on the motorcycle when an unknown number of assailants on board a motorcycle and a car followed them and one man sitting in the back of the car sprayed bullets at the victims.
The sound of gunshots prompted residents living near the area to come out, causing the attackers to flee.
Police were investigating whether the attack stemmed from a personal conflict or the ongoing southern violence.