Two police officers were killed and three were injured when a gunman opened fire on an investigation team in Tak Bai district, Narathiwat, on 2 August.

The officers were conducting a search linked to a narcotics case at Ban Bueng Chalam in Phrai Wan subdistrict when they came under gunfire. The attacker escaped and was believed to still be carrying a rifle.

Pol Maj Gen Prayong Kotsakha, commander of Narathiwat Provincial Police, went to the scene to oversee the response, according to the Narathiwat Public Relations Office.

Security forces launch search operation

The two dead officers were members of the Tak Bai Police Station investigation unit. Three injured officers were taken to hospital for treatment; no further details on their conditions were released by authorities.

Police secured the area and are collecting evidence. A joint operation involving police, military personnel and administrative officials has been launched to surround, search and track down the gunman.

Authorities said security measures and surveillance had been stepped up in and around the area to prevent a further attack and bring the suspect before the law.

The shooting occurred during an operation targeting a suspected drug case. Officials did not identify a suspect or give a possible motive.

The authorities have asked members of the public to report suspicious people or behaviour immediately. Reports can be made to officials or to the Internal Security Operations Command Region 4 Forward Command hotline on 1341.

Pictures courtesy of SiamRath

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2 August 2026

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Police fatalities from gunfire are still uncommon across most of Thailand, but the deep South remains the outlier.

Condolences to the families of the two officers killed, and respect to all five who walked into that operation doing their duty.

The follow‑up will be intense, as it involves their own members. And it's just after criticism of the police handling of the Huai Yai family‑murder case, where relatives complained of slow early action and national leadership flagged failures around repeat violent offenders.

Regardless, these fatalities remind us that frontline officers absorb risks the rest of us hardly ever see.

Edited August 2Aug 2 by Jim Waldron