A man was found dead in a house in Bangkok’s Rama 2 Road area after an eight-hour hostage standoff with police. The police stormed the house after the man fatally shot a police officer and injured another.
The man, identified as Boonma, reportedly had mental health issues. During the standoff, he struck his daughter on the face with a pistol and took his four family members hostage. The standoff lasted from 9:35 PM until about 5:30 AM.
The siege began when a police unit from Tha Kham police station, led by Deputy Superintendent Pol Lt-Col Kitchon Chanyarom, rushed to a house in the DK housing estate on Kanchana-Rama 2 Road after receiving a report of a man holding his family hostage.
Kitchon and another officer, Pol Snr Sgt-Maj Chaiwat Attasophonwattana, approached the house to investigate and were shot, allegedly by someone inside. Both officers collapsed in front of the house before being rescued by an emergency response unit and rushed to a nearby hospital. Pol Lt-Col Kitchon was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
More police, including a SWAT team, were dispatched to the house. The surrounding area was cordoned off as armed officers laid siege from a safe distance.
At about 2 AM, Pol Lt-Gen Thiti Saengsawang, the commissioner of Metropolitan Police, arrived to supervise the police operations. Meanwhile, police negotiators, speaking through a bullhorn, tried to persuade Boonma to release his family and surrender.
Thiti said that shots were occasionally fired from the house until about 2:40 AM. Police did not return fire. At 5:20 AM, three stun grenades were lobbed into the house as officers stormed the residence.
Thiti told the media that Boonma was found dead in the house but did not elaborate on how he died. Four hostages were safely brought out, including the daughter with facial injuries.
He insisted that the police strictly followed the rules of engagement for a hostage situation, adding that the deceased officer’s family would be fully compensated.
According to police, Boonma was a gun collector and practiced at a shooting range. Four pistols of .38 caliber, 9mm, and 11mm, along with a shotgun, were found in the house.
An emergency worker told the media that about a month ago, they had rushed to the house after being asked by the police to take a man with mental health problems to the hospital. They had to retreat rapidly when the man threatened to shoot them.
