THAILAND – A shocking incident unfolded at a wedding reception in northeastern Thailand on Saturday when a decorated Thai para-athlete turned violent, killing his new bride and four other guests before committing suicide, police reported on Monday.
Chaturong Suksuk, 29, an ASEAN Para Games silver medalist, was the identified murderer. The victims included his bride, Kanchana Pachunthuek, her mother Kingthong Klajoho, younger sister Kornnipa Manato, and a guest, Thong Nonkhunthod. A stray bullet killed another guest, marking the fifth victim of the incident.
According to Matichon Wongbaokul, a local police officer, Chaturong had an argument with the victims over an undisclosed private matter, leading him to retrieve a gun from his car and initiate the shooting. Chaturong, the perpetrator, was reported to be highly intoxicated during the incident. However, his intentions remain unclear. Police records reveal that he had legally bought his gun and ammunition last year.
Notably, the difference between the ages of the bride and the groom was fifteen years, with Chaturong being younger. The couple had lived together for three years before deciding to tie the knot.
Chaturong, a skilled swimmer, had scored victories in the 2022 ASEAN Para Games held in Indonesia and Cambodia, earning two silver medals. Local reports indicated that he served as a Thai army ranger and had lost his right leg while patrolling the border areas.
Shootings in public places are a rarity in Thailand, a country where gun ownership is nonetheless fairly common. Despite this, recent months have seen violent incidents, including a shooting in a luxury mall in Bangkok that took three lives last month and a horrifying gun and knife attack by a former policeman who killed 37 children at a northeastern nursery in October 2022.