When police arrived at the scene yesterday (Apr 9), Somchai Kieingchan, 42, who is traditional Thai dance teacher and a member of a dance troupe, was found bleeding profusely and had been shot in the left side of his neck.
His wife, Mrs Urarat, 43, had been shot twice in her lower back, once in an arm and once in a leg, and had a broken finger on her right hand.
Their son, Thanawat, 20, had been shot in his right leg and in his lower back.
All three were rushed to Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket Town. (See story here.)
Speaking to The Phuket News today (Apr 10), Phuket Provincial Police Commander Maj Gen Teeraphol Thipjaroen confirmed that a dog barking was the motivation behind the shooting.
“Lt Kwansirinat Thairat of the Wichit Police questioned Mr Thanawat at Vachira Phuket Hospital today.
“Mr Thanawat confirmed to Lt Kwansirinat that he and his mother and father had a meal together at 10:30pm.
“The family’s neighbour, Mr Panpakorn Suwannarit, 36, walked into the house and told them to get their dog to stop barking. He then left the house.
“Mr Thawawat tried to stop the dog barking but then Panpakorn appeared in the house again with a gun. He pointed the gun at Mrs Urarat first and shot. Mr Thanawat tried to stop Panpakorn but he also got shot.
“Mr Somchai shouted out to Panpakorn to stop shooting, ‘don’t shot, don’t shot’, but he got shot several times too,” Maj Gen Teeraphol explained.
“Panpakorn left the scene and Mr Thawawat went outside to find help but could not find anyone so he called the police,” he said.
“The cause of the shooting was a dog barking as this made the suspect unhappy. However, Panpakorn will face a charge of carrying a gun in public and attempted murder,” he added.
Lt Kwansirinat confirmed The Phuket News this afternoon that Mr Thawawat would be able to identify the suspect and that an arrest warrant is currently being sought from the Phuket Provincial Court.