Gunman runs amok
Kiartipong Meksawat who was shot dead during a gunfight with police yesterday.
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Enraged loner and gun enthusiast kills three, injures seven in two-hour clash with police, guards at Pathum Thani market
A bloody two-hour gunfight between an enraged gunman and scores of police officers at an open market on the outskirts of Bangkok ended yesterday in the death of four people, including the attacker. Seven others were injured, some of them seriously.Kiartipong Meksawat, 21, armed with an AK47 assault rifle, went on a shooting spree just before dawn yesterday after stabbing to death a security guard, Sa-ard Khamsri, at the Thai Market in Pathum Thani's Klong Luang district. Police said Sa-ard became Kiartipong's first victim after he questioned whether Kiartipong was the rightful owner of a motorcycle parked at the entrance of the market. Moments later, the shooting spree began as police arrived at the crime scene to investigate an incident that soon became even more bloody than they initially anticipated. Market women and wholesale buyers ducked for cover as gunfire was exchanged between the young man and police. A durian seller, On Thongsuk, 46, and Pol Sergeant Issara Maneesaeng, were the gunman's next victims, while a pickup truck driver Theerayuth Sri-ariyakul, 30, who refused to give the gunman a lift, was shot and wounded. A motorcycle taxi driver, Prasert Wabanthap, also took a stray bullet in his right leg. Kiartipong was running for cover when he shot at Issara, hitting the officer in the head. Several others - including Pol Lt Col Ritthinan Puipanthawong, who was also injured - scrambled to get away from the hail of fire. Doctors at the Thammasat Hospital in Rangsit sub-district performed surgery to remove the bullet from Ritthinan's stomach. He was later transferred to the Police Hospital in Bangkok, where he was put in the intensive care unit. During the gunfight, Pol Private Virote Boonlawong was hit in the leg and stomach. Doctors said he is still in a critical condition as the bullets hit main blood vessels. Two hours after the stabbing incident at Soi Aiyara 1/1, not far from where the first victim lay dead, Kiartipong was finally shot dead by police. Initial investigations provided a glimpse into Kiartipong's personality. It is known that he meditated, visited temples, yet also owned handguns, loved to play violent video games, read 'Guns and Ammo' magazines and had no friends except his sister, who visited him regularly. "He was a loner," said Metropolitan Police Area 2 commander, Maj-General Amnuay Nimmano. Police searched his apartment and found two fully loaded AK47 magazines, 35 rounds of bullets for .22mm handguns, three knives and one samurai sword, ninja-style throwing stars, weapon magazines and combative computer games. Kiartipong was last seen leaving his apartment on his motorbike at about 9pm on Tuesday. Police found in Kiartipong's possession some tools, which they believed he used to steal motorbikes, a mobile phone, and three AK47 magazines. Police said they were not ruling out the possibility that Kiartipong may have been part of a gang behind a series of motorcycle thefts. Amnuay, who led the search, said Kiartipong had been renting the room for over a month. The rent was paid for by his sister, who visited him regularly. She accompanied the police during the search yesterday. Amnuay said Kiartipong's mother had married a foreign man and lived abroad. His mother sent him money regularly, he said. The Nation PATHUM THANI
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