NARATHIWAT - Police have named four suspects involved in the killing of a teacher and plan to issue arrest warrants.
Pol Col Krissada Kaewchandee, deputy chief of the provincial police force, said on Thursday that police knew the identities of the four and were gathering more evidence to seek court approval for arrest warrants.
They are Isma-ae, Ahama, Marosor and Sokuning. He did not disclose their last names.
Pol Col Krissada said Sokuning was the gunman who fired at Chonlathee Charoenchol in Ban Tanyong School's canteen in Bacho district in Narathiwat province on Wednesday.
Police traced the 9mm bullet cartridges and found that the pistol was stolen from Pol Sgt Azissaul Hemma, an officer at the Khok Khien station in the province, after insurgents shot him to dead on May 25 last year.
Chonlathee was the 158th teacher in the southernmost region killed since violence erupted in 2004. Teachers in 21 schools in the district closed classes on Thursday and Friday after the death of their colleague for fears about their safety.
The Confederation of Narathiwat Teachers held a meeting on Thursday and urged quick punishment of the gunman. They also called on the authorities to alert them by short messages if they have any intelligence that teachers are in danger of becoming a target of insurgents.