Groom kills his bride and 4 others at wedding reception in Thailand, police say

A decorated Thai para-athlete murdered his bride and four other people at their wedding reception before turning his gun on himself, police said Monday.

Chaturong Suksuk, 29, an ASEAN Para Games silver medalist, shot bride Kanchana Pachunthuek at the wedding in northeastern Thailand on Saturday, authorities said. 

The other victims were identified as 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 on private matters and Chaturong walked to his car and picked up a gun before shooting," said Matichon Wongbaokul, a police officer from northeastern Nakhon Ratchasima province.

He said Chaturong shot his bride and four others before killing himself.

One of the victims was a guest hit by a stray bullet.

Police told the BBC that Chaturong "was quite intoxicated at the time," but his exact motive remains unclear. He had 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 had lived together for three years before they married, the BBC reported, citing Thai media.

A swimmer, he won two silver medals in 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 on patrol on the borders.

Mass shootings are rare in Thailand, but gun ownership is common in the country, according to the BBC.

Last month, three people were killed in a shooting in a luxury mall in Bangkok, the BBC reported. And in October 2022, a former policeman killed 37 children in a gun and knife attack at a nursery in northeast Thailand.

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• Thailand
• Mass Shooting