PHETCHABURI: Three pub-goers were injured when an unknown number of attackers opened fire on them near a pub in downtown Muang district just two weeks after a fatal gunfight in the province.
The shooting occurred at about 12.10am on a road near the Apollo Pub in tambon Raisom, said Pol Lt Col Natthawat Noppawatthananan, a duty officer at Muang police station.
Police, soldiers, forensic officers and rescue workers who rushed to the scene found three men injured. They were identified later as Somkiart Chanta, 40; Sitthichok Srichan, 33; and Chaturong Pidprasarn, 38. All three were treated at a nearby hospital.
At the scene, police found seven spent cartridges from an 11mm pistol, four bullets and three spent cartridges from a 9mm gun scattered on the road.
Mr Sitthichok, one of the injured men, told police that after the pub closed, he and his two friends were walking to their pickup truck parked about 100 metres away.
While they were getting into the vehicle, a white Toyota Yaris passed by and the men inside sprayed bullets at them before speeding away, he said.
Minutes later, two men on a motorcycle arrived and the pillion rider fired shots at the group. Mr Sitthichok said he did not know their motive.
Pol Col Thanin Chatcharoenporn, chief of Muang police, said police and soldiers set up road checkpoints after a gunfight between two rival gangs at a restaurant in Muang district on May 5.
Two security guards were killed and another man injured in the clash in front of the Saengtawan restaurant at about 1.10am on that day.
Tighter security would be imposed to prevent the recurrence of such attacks, said the police chief.