Paralympic Swimmer Kills Bride, In-Laws and Guest in Wedding Shooting Spree

A Paralympic swimmer who won a silver medal at the ASEAN Para Games last year shot dead his bride, her mother, her sister and a guest at their wedding party in Thailand before killing himself.

The horrific incident happened on Saturday night at a house in the Wang Nam Khieo district in north-east Thailand, where Chaturong Suksuk, 29 and Kanchana Pachunthuek, 44, were celebrating their marriage.

According to witnesses, Chaturong, a former soldier who lost his right leg after being run over by a train, looked angry and drunk after having an argument with his bride over his disability and insecurity.

He stormed out of the venue to his car and came back with a 9mm pistol that he had bought legally last year. He then opened fire at the crowd, killing his bride, her 62-year-old mother, Kingthong Klajorho, and her 38-year-old sister, Kornika Manator.

Two other guests were hit by stray bullets, one of them, Thong Nonkhunthod, 50, died at the scene, while the other, Bamrung Chaterarat, 28, was seriously injured and taken to the hospital.

Chaturong then turned the gun on himself and shot himself in the mouth, ending his bloody rampage.

Police said they recovered 11 bullets from the scene and video footage showed the bodies lying on the dance floor and blood stains on the grass.

A neighbour, 70, who knew the couple for a long time, said she was devastated by the tragedy.

She said: ‘I heard the loud shots and thought they were just setting off firecrackers for the party. It was only in the morning that I learned what happened. I’m devastated. I’ve known the couple for a long time and I was like a mother to them.’

Chaturong was a member of the Thai team of paralympic athletes who participated in the 11th Asean Para Games in Indonesia in 2022 and won a silver medal in swimming. He had lived with Kanchana for three years before deciding to get married.

The shooting came just days after Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin signed an order to stop issuing gun licenses for a year in an attempt to curb gun violence in the country, which has one of the highest gun ownership and gun homicide rates in Asia.

The Prime Minister had vowed to tighten gun control in Thailand after a shocking mall shooting in which a teenage gunman opened fire at shoppers at a Bangkok mall in October, killing two people and injuring four others.

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