A decorated Thai para-athlete murdered his bride and four others at their wedding reception before turning the gun on himself, police said on Monday.
ASEAN Para Games silver medalist Chaturong Suksuk, 29, shot bride Kanchana Pachunthuek at the wedding in northeastern Thailand on Saturday, authorities said.
The other victims were the bride’s mother, Kingthong Klajoho, 62, her younger sister Kornnipa Manato, 38, and a guest, Thong Nonkhunthod, 50, the Bangkok Post reported.
“They had an argument about private matters and Chaturong went to his car and took a gun before shooting,” said Matichon Wongbaokul, a police officer from northeastern Nakhon Ratchasima province.
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He said Chaturong shot his bride and four others before killing himself.
One of the victims was a guest who was hit by a stray bullet.
Police told the BBC that Chaturong was “quite drunk at the time”, but his exact motive remains unclear. He bought the gun and ammunition legally last year, police said.
Chaturong was 15 years younger than the bride, the Bangkok Post reported.
Chaturong and Kanchana lived together for three years before their marriage, the BBC reported, citing Thai media.
As a swimmer, he won two silver medals at the 2022 ASEAN Para Games in Indonesia and Cambodia.
Local media reported that he was a Thai army ranger and had lost his right leg while patrolling the border.
According to the BBC, mass shootings are rare in Thailand, but gun ownership is widespread in the country.
Last month, three people were killed in a shooting at a luxury shopping mall in Bangkok, the BBC reported. And in October 2022, a former police officer killed 37 children in a gun and knife attack at a kindergarten in northeastern Thailand.