Gunman Kills Five at Bangkok Fresh Market Before Turning Weapon on Himself

61-year-old man, Noi Praidaen, killed five people before committing suicide at Or Tor Kor market in Bangkok’s Chatuchak district

A gunman opened fire at the Or Tor Kor fresh food market in Bangkok’s Chatuchak district on Monday, killing five people and injuring two others before taking his own life, according to police.

Among the deceased were multiple security guards working at the market, which is located near the well-known Chatuchak Weekend Market and is popular with both Thai residents and international tourists. The Erawan Medical Center reported that two women were also wounded in the incident.

Eyewitnesses and video footage circulating on social media showed the gunman dressed in a baseball cap and shorts, carrying a backpack on his chest and a handgun in his right hand as he walked through the market.

The man opened fire at Or Tor Kor market in Bangkok before shooting himself on a bench

Authorities are still investigating the identity of the shooter and his motives. Police General Kitrat Phanphet, head of the national police force, has ordered a swift and thorough investigation, instructing city police to collect all relevant evidence, including CCTV footage from the scene.

Although Thailand enforces relatively strict firearm regulations, gun violence continues to occur frequently due to widespread private gun ownership.

Monday’s shooting is the latest in a string of violent incidents involving firearms in the country. In October 2023, a teenage gunman used a modified blank pistol to shoot more than half a dozen people at Bangkok’s Paragon shopping mall, resulting in three fatalities.

The victims include four security guards and a market vendor, according to local media

In one of Thailand’s most devastating mass killings, a former police officer fatally attacked a day care center in Nong Bua Lamphua province in October 2022, killing 36 people, including 24 young children, using a combination of firearms and knives.

In February 2020, a Thai army soldier killed 29 people in a rampage that ended after an 18-hour standoff with police at a shopping mall in Nakhon Ratchasima.

Police continue to examine the background of the Bangkok market shooter as part of the investigation into the nation’s latest deadly outburst of gun violence.