On Friday morning, a shooting incident took place on a Phuket-Phatthalung inter-provincial bus in the just south of the main city district of Phuket. At approximately 6:50am, a fellow passenger reportedly shot two individuals on the outbound lanes Thepkasattri Road, heading north.
The bus pulled over near the top of the Khuan Din Daeng hill curve, just before the road heads down towards Koh Kaew.
The incident prompted a quick response from local authorities, with thirty police officers arriving at the scene to secure the area and close off the outbound lane.
According to the bus driver, who was able to escape the incident along with eight other passengers, there were nine individuals on board the bus when it left the Transport Company’s terminal for Phatthalung at 6:40 am. Ten minutes into the journey, the driver heard a gunshot from the back of the bus, followed by a female passenger running towards him and screaming for help, indicating that she had been shot.
According to eye witnesses, the gunman was sitting in the middle of the bus before he walked to the back and opened fire on at least two people. The driver said the man’s behaviour was very relaxed.
“The gunman then returned to his seat and appeared unfazed by the situation.”
The driver then stopped the vehicle on the side of the road, after which a second shot was fired and a male passenger was injured. In the chaos that ensued, all passengers, including the driver, escaped from the bus.
30 policemen were deployed to handle the incident and the northbound and southbound lanes of Thepkasattri Road were closed to keep traffic away from the incident.
The shooter shot himself around 11.10am on the bus as police were attempting to negotiate with him for surrender. Police fired tear gas into the vehicle after negotiations with the man’s relatives broke down.
The two injured passengers were promptly taken to a nearby hospital for medical attention.
The entire incident took around 5 hours and caused mayhem for the morning’s peak hour traffic.
The motive for the shooting is currently unknown, and an investigation is underway.
