TRANG: A garage owner was shot dead in a hail of bullets outside his house in Ratsada district as he returned home from a funeral early on Wednesday morning.
Police said two men armed with AK assault rifles opened fire at Thawatchai Klabkhan, 53, as he arrived in his four-door pickup at the front gate of Thawatchai Karnchang garage in Moo 1 village of tambon Khlong Pang around midnight.
He was hit in the head, chest, abdomen and back. There were 19 bullet holes in the driver's door and 23 spent shells found on the ground near the vehicle.
His wife Ampa Klabkhan and employee Somchai Sanomnoi were also wounded, but later reported in a safe condition at Ratsada Hospital.
Police said the three victims were returning from a funeral. As the employee opened the gate to the premises the two gunmen emerged from the shadows, opened fire, and then fled.
Ampawan Klabkhan, the dead man's daughter, said she heard dogs barking loudly about half an hour before the shooting. Her mother ran into the house, shouting that she was shot and her father killed. She believed the gunmen had been hiding near the house, in ambush for her father.
Police suspect a personal or business conflict was the motive for the murder.