Pattani: Police are searching for six suspects who shot dead the chief of the tambon Kholor Tanyong Administrative Organisation and a village headman in Nong Chik district. Three others were also injured.
The shooting occurred on Tuesday around 6.30pm at a football field in tambon Datoh in Pattani's Nong Chik district, where the TAO of Kholor Tanyong was holding an annual sports meet.
According to reports, at least six people were involved in the shooting, which targeted Cherdchai Prommaratkaew, 56, the TAO's chief administrator and Sitthichai Petchsuriya, the village headman of Ban Rai in Kholor Tanyong.
The group arrived at the football field on motorcycles. They managed to steal guns from a bag that Cherdchai's driver was carrying, after which they approached the two targets by infiltrating the crowd.
The shooters fired two bullets at Cherdchai's head and shot Sitthichai several times in the back while he was running away. Both men died at the scene.
Three other people were injured, including Nattasak Sriyan, 38, a disaster prevention officer of Kholor Tanyong TAO. All three were sent to Pattani Hospital.
At the scene, police found several cartridges from an M16 rifle and a 9mm pistol.
They believe the shooting was either to kill government officials as part of a terrorism campaign or to settle a personal dispute. Police are hunting down those involved.
Meanwhile, an improvised explosive device (IED) planted in a motorcycle parked near Tha Phraya Sai Dam in tambon Bang Nak in Narathiwat's Muang district exploded on Monday night, injuring 10 people, including two Malaysians. Local authorities are investigating.