Bangkok gunman killed by police

18 Apr 2011

A gunman who went on the rampage in Bangkok last week and killed two was shot dead in his hostage’s car. Thada Inthamas, 37, had already killed a police officer and a taxi driver before he hijacked Doctor Pipatra Sailohit’s car and took her hostage.

Police chased the doctor’s Toyota through the Thai capital’s streets, before catching up with it close to Victory Monument on Phaya Thai Road. Police shot at Inthamas as he was driving and killed him.

Doctor Sailohit was also hit in the gunfire and was taken to hospital with four bullet wounds. The doctor has already had the bullet that lodged in her stomach removed and is expected to have additional operations to remove the rest this week.

The 28-year-old army doctor said doctors at Rajavithi Hospital have told her that she should be released around the end of this month. She also alleged that she was wounded by police as her kidnapper had his gun aimed at her head while he was driving.

Thai police boss Wichean Potephosree said that police officers involved in the chase and subsequent shootout were not trained in hostage rescues and had shot at Inthamas to stop him from continuing his trail of carnage. He added that the Toyota’s windows were tinted and officers could not see clearly who was in the vehicle.

Thada Inthamas, a computer repairman from Nakhon Si Thammarat in the south of the country, began his trail of destruction in the Nonthaburi area of the capital. As well as the two deaths and hostage abduction, he stole one other vehicle and ran a traffic policeman over breaking several of his bones.

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