Killing Spree In Bangkok, Carjacker Murders Two

[webfact]

Killing spree in Bangkok

By JESSADA CHANTARARAK

The Nation

Carjacker murders two, runs over a traffic cop, takes woman hostage before being gunned down by police

It looked like a scene from a Hollywood blockbuster when a man from Nakhon Si Thammarat went on a rampage in Bangkok, killing a policeman and a taxi driver, holding a woman hostage and running over another police officer.

Thada Inthamas, 37, who had a history as a drug user, was finally shot dead in the Victory Monument area.

National Police chief General Wichean Potephosree later said that Thada had wreaked havoc after going crazy by abusing ya ba.

Before the car chase and gunfight came to a height in downtown Bangkok, Thada, driving a green Toyota Corona, rammed into the rear of a Toyota Camry that belonged to 63-year-old retired 2nd Lieutenant Wichai Wilairassami in front of the Anan 2 Hospital. He then threw Wichai out of his car at knifepoint and made off with it.

He then stopped at the police booth at the Khattiyanee Intersection on Sukhothai Road, got out of the car and stabbed traffic police officer Senior Sgt-Major Likhasit Pirasri more than 17 times before shooting the officer dead with his own gun. He then sped off.

As he drove against the traffic toward Ayutthaya Intersection, Thada hit a pink taxi in front of his car before hitting another Camry and a bronze-coloured Toyota. He then got out of the car to shoot dead the 34-year-old taxi driver Amnat Poungsungnoen. Luckily, the two passengers, both foreigners, escaped.

Thada then ran across the road, hijacked a Camry that was waiting for the traffic light and held the driver, Dr Pipattra Sailohit, hostage. He allowed the hostage's mother to get out of the car before speeding off toward Victory Monument.

Thada then hit and ran over traffic police officer, Pol Senior Sgt-Major Jiroj Boonthongkham, at the intersection. The policeman survived but ended up with a broken leg.

Police started shooting at the car as it headed toward the Victory Monument roundabout until it came to a stop. Police then dashed over and pulled the hostage out of the back seat. The suspect was reportedly shot dead at 11.30am. The doctor sustained a bullet wound in her stomach, but was declared stable after surgery at Rajvithee Hospital nearby.

After the dust settled, police inspection of the doctor's car revealed that it had 35 bullet holes and that all its tyres had deflated. Police also found 19 spent cartridges on the road and footpath nearby. Thada's body was found slumped on the driver's seat with five bullet wounds in his head, one in his right palm and one in left hand. A pistol was found near him. Police also noticed stitches on both of Thada's wrists that were possibly less than a week old.

Initial investigation showed that Thada worked as a computer repairman in Nakhon Si Thammarat and that the green Toyota Corona he was initially driving belonged to his older sister, Karuna Inthamas, whom he had visited a few days ago in Nonthaburi's Bang Yai district. Karuna said her brother was often stressed out and had a history of abusing ya ba.

Meanwhile, the hostage's 59-year-old mother, Lakkhana Sailohit, said she and her daughter were heading toward Siam Square after making merit at Sukhontharam Temple, when the suspect hijacked their car. She said she was terrified and worried when the police started shooting at her daughter's car. She added that she prayed fervently for her daughter's well-being and safety until doctors declared her condition as stable.

Somsri Chantrachit, kamnan of tambon Nareng in Nakhon Si Thammarat's Nopphitam district, revealed that a week earlier a petrol-station owner had filed a police complaint against Thada for causing property damage worth Bt50,000. Somsri said she had heard that Thada, who came from a well-to-do family in the area, had recently separated from his wife with whom he has had two children.

-- The Nation 2011-04-15

[rogerman]

Rip to the victims, som num nah to Thada....you son of a bitch....one less idiot around....now can someone shoot the sumlor rider outside my house....he does yaba and paint thinners

[brahmburgers]

sad news. the guy went beserk. so much harm, very bad.

Edited April 15, 2011 by brahmburgers

[ginjag]

sad news. the guy went beserk. so much harm, very bad.

Couldn't he have been held and checked at the police station for the week earlier offence ????? possible this could have been avoided, I maybe wrong.

Known ya-ba user ???? no one could have stopped this ???? prevention better than cure !! ---- Money family eh!!

[aussiebebe]

sad news. the guy went beserk. so much harm, very bad.

Couldn't he have been held and checked at the police station for the week earlier offence ????? possible this could have been avoided, I maybe wrong.

Known ya-ba user ???? no one could have stopped this ???? prevention better than cure !! ---- Money family eh!!

Maybe bringing back Thaksin is the answer. Thai's aren't scared of anyone anymore while criminals and law-abiding citizens alike seem to have even less respect than ever before for government or law enforcement. Our thoughts should be with the victims and the police who are ill-equipt and funded for their difficult task and without the psychological help they need.

[bushwacker]

Lakkhana Sailohit, said she and her daughter were heading toward Siam Square after making merit at Sukhontharam Temple, when the suspect hijacked their car.

Thank Goodness they had just finished making Merit ... as this must have saved their lives.

[scorecard]

sad news. the guy went beserk. so much harm, very bad.

Couldn't he have been held and checked at the police station for the week earlier offence ????? possible this could have been avoided, I maybe wrong.

Known ya-ba user ???? no one could have stopped this ???? prevention better than cure !! ---- Money family eh!!

Maybe bringing back Thaksin is the answer. Thai's aren't scared of anyone anymore while criminals and law-abiding citizens alike seem to have even less respect than ever before for government or law enforcement. Our thoughts should be with the victims and the police who are ill-equipt and funded for their difficult task and without the psychological help they need.

So, are you suggesting that the PM should ingnore the law and order cops to kill on sight, whever, whenever, no investigations...

Is that in fact what you would call building respect for the law?

[Scott]

My condolences to all the people involved in this tragic event.

[sbk]

methamphetamine psychosis is a sad fact of heavy use of the drug and given the psychotic state the man was in its lucky he didn't kill more.

I seriously doubt he has family money, for the poster who came up with that theory. More than likely the episode came on after his last arrest.

[animatic]

It seems the trigger was his wife and him splitting up, I guess his self abuse became too much for her, and she was scared also for the children. He took it out on a local business and got arrested for damaging it.

So here we have a guy on the edge and all he was holding onto for a sense of normality has been yanked away. Likely looking at a debt he can't pay, and/or jail time. He clearly snapped, no doubt found a few hits of yaba, had a run in with the cops recently, and finally went out in a blaze of hell.

The stitches on both wrists are a big hint, this may well have been suicide by policeman. Several of the things he did, seemed guaranteed to make the police shoot until he stops moving when they catch up to him.

RIP the innocent victims of this nutter.

Edited April 15, 2011 by animatic

[zzaa09]

[sic]... seem to have even less respect than ever before for government or law enforcement.

Yet, what have these fine upstanding institutions proven themselves to garner any such public respect?

[Schooner]

This is truly a sad event. I can't imagine the horror of it all, but please don't make this a Thai thing. It's happening all over the world even in so called civilized societies. Just last week someone went on a rampage in the Neatherlands where I have the highest regard for their social programs and their attention to building a sustainable society.

We have gained such understanding of drug abuse and we can clearly see which progams are most effective at reducing the damage caused, but we refuse to invest in our own societies to try to solve the problem. This is a human problem that has no national boundries.

[dunkin2012]

incredibly true..........in BKK......... stabbed 17 times... I guess he didn't even know he himself in a dream or in the reality.....

again another hub of Amphetamine and handguns....?

condolence to all....

Edited April 15, 2011 by dunkin2012

[asiawatcher]

Songkran is that time of cleansing - maybe the world is better off without this guy but you have to think about what makes people do this! Poverty, despair, drugs, family crisis, ... it all adds up to a one way ticket. Sad for all the victims.

[pisico]

"Police started shooting at the car as it headed toward the Victory Monument roundabout until it came to a stop. Police then dashed over and pulled the hostage out of the back seat. The suspect was reportedly shot dead at 11.30am. The doctor sustained a bullet wound in her stomach, but was declared stable after surgery at Rajvithee Hospital nearby."

I hope I am never a hostage to a criminal. I would hate to be shot in the stomach by the police.

Does this say anything about the training (if any) and/or procedures of the Police in such cases?

Anyone with a sane answer, please, post it for the benefit of all.

Thanks! :jap:

Edited April 15, 2011 by pisico

[Schooner]

Five head shots sounds like pretty good shooting to me. Lots of cases of shootouts with handguns that didn't hit anything. Movies not withstanding.

[Lodestone]

Thada's body was found slumped on the driver's seat with five bullet wounds in his head

Must've been resisting arrest.

[soundman]

RIP to the deceased.

................................

Luckily, the two passengers, both foreigners, escaped

.

Straight out of a Hollywood script. Luckily it ended well for them.

[dunkin2012]

_{Thin line between life and death ..... She, a medical Dr. could escape from death...... ................}

_{despaired + hopeless + marriage life failure + drug addicted + problem at petrol station = Suicide}

Who will be next if YaBa is everywhere? From the information , we got here .... He could manage to use a handgun well....

Humm.....

from other media, some bullets went inside the car from the window on the same side of the passenger seat on the left...... is this?

Edited April 15, 2011 by dunkin2012

[Schooner]

I thought he got the gun from the police man that he stabbed 17 times. The Thai police are much less defensive when approaching a suspect. When I've been stopped they walk right up and start chatting away. In the US today everyone is treated as a potential threat and your more likely to be told to get out of the car and get on the ground.

[dunkin2012]

I thought he got the gun from the police man that he stabbed 17 times. The Thai police are much less defensive when approaching a suspect. When I've been stopped they walk right up and start chatting away. In the US today everyone is treated as a potential threat and your more likely to be told to get out of the car and get on the ground.

correct... that's not his handgun....

he took it from the police,decreased.... Maybe,he is a traffic police.... .... Police is the most dangerous job of all... ...

I agree he should be more defensive............... ...............

[pampal]

RIP to the victims

[cdnvic]

I trollish post removed.

[Greyman]

Drug Induced Psychosis is a scary sight. They are capable of any amount of violence towards others and themselves.

I have witnessed handcuffs being broken and solid doors being kicked through, by people who weight 55kg.

Sadly the only way to stop them is by superior numbers,if unarmed or lethal force.

R.I.P. to the victims.

Lets not forget, there are many other victims in this story.

[ding]

Drugas are a nasty disease and plight on every country. Does AA and NA work in Thai society?

[jdinasia]

Drugas are a nasty disease and plight on every country. Does AA and NA work in Thai society?

Great to see you online!

AA and NA are both here in Thailand but do not quite fit culturally yet. (sadly) It is worth noting that either option is far from successful on any given attempt at sobriety.

[gregb]

"Police started shooting at the car as it headed toward the Victory Monument roundabout until it came to a stop. Police then dashed over and pulled the hostage out of the back seat. The suspect was reportedly shot dead at 11.30am. The doctor sustained a bullet wound in her stomach, but was declared stable after surgery at Rajvithee Hospital nearby."

I hope I am never a hostage to a criminal. I would hate to be shot in the stomach by the police.

Does this say anything about the training (if any) and/or procedures of the Police in such cases?

Anyone with a sane answer, please, post it for the benefit of all.

Thanks! :jap:

While I am not sure I agree with how the police handled this situation, I can certainly understand that there comes a time when the perpetrator is so dangerous that he has to be stopped. Imagine if he was driving the car at high speed straight into a crowd of children. Then, hostage or no hostage, he has to be shot and stopped.

I don't know what the circumstances were when they made their decision to shoot even with the risk to the hostage. I would hope what they did was truly necessary. Without further details I don't think we are qualified to start second guessing the situation. 35 bullet holes and only 1 hitting the doctor does seem to indicate that at least they were not shooting indiscriminately. Seems like they were aiming at the driver and the tires. The question becomes, was that truly the only option available to them at the moment?

If I was the doctor, I might be able to forgive them as long as I survived the ordeal. He probably would have killed her anyway if they had let him get away and she was no longer useful. So maybe what happened was truly the best outcome that could have been hoped for.

[Prasannas]

I was at Victory Monument that time. It is very sad to see these murders happened on Songkran days...

[animatic]

"Police started shooting at the car as it headed toward the Victory Monument roundabout until it came to a stop. Police then dashed over and pulled the hostage out of the back seat. The suspect was reportedly shot dead at 11.30am. The doctor sustained a bullet wound in her stomach, but was declared stable after surgery at Rajvithee Hospital nearby."

I hope I am never a hostage to a criminal. I would hate to be shot in the stomach by the police.

Does this say anything about the training (if any) and/or procedures of the Police in such cases?

Anyone with a sane answer, please, post it for the benefit of all.

Thanks! :jap:

While I am not sure I agree with how the police handled this situation, I can certainly understand that there comes a time when the perpetrator is so dangerous that he has to be stopped. Imagine if he was driving the car at high speed straight into a crowd of children. Then, hostage or no hostage, he has to be shot and stopped.

I don't know what the circumstances were when they made their decision to shoot even with the risk to the hostage. I would hope what they did was truly necessary. Without further details I don't think we are qualified to start second guessing the situation. 35 bullet holes and only 1 hitting the doctor does seem to indicate that at least they were not shooting indiscriminately. Seems like they were aiming at the driver and the tires. The question becomes, was that truly the only option available to them at the moment?

If I was the doctor, I might be able to forgive them as long as I survived the ordeal. He probably would have killed her anyway if they had let him get away and she was no longer useful. So maybe what happened was truly the best outcome that could have been hoped for.

The guy had literally been leaving a trail of death.

I imagine the radio calls to stop him without question were pretty severe. Remember he had come up to a cop and stabbed him without warning 17 times and then took his gun and stole another car... and had been shooting, and kidnapping.

Imagine what the police at Victory Monument imagined they had coming at them... Police had every reason to believe he would take many more with him, including them, if left to his own devices.

It is of course sad, filled with pathos, and I don't like killings, period.

But I can see this one most likely had justified cause to stop him there and then, if possible.

Edited April 15, 2011 by animatic

[Credo]

It is a sad situation for everyone concerned. It's Songkran, a lot of activity, and a crazed person. An unpredictable situation. Had he not been shot when he was, I am sure the death toll and damage would be higher.