Decade-long land dispute ends in courtroom bloodbath, leaving three dead after gun battle erupts in Thai courtroom – Defendant, a retired senior policeman, shoots dead plaintiff and his lawyer before being gunned down
WARNING: Graphic Content
Ex-policeman shoots and kills two people insdie a courtroom in Chanthaburi, Thailand on Tuesday morning
Land dispute bloodbath left three dead after gun battle erupted in a courtroom as the parties awaited the verdict in a decade long land dispute
The defendant shot dead the plaintiff and his lawyer before being gunned down himself
Retired policeman, Thanin Chantratip, 67, a retired Inspector General of the Royal Thai Police, pulled out a Glock .22 handgun in the courtroom after arguing with opposing lawyer, Wijai Sukharom
Thanin then shot and killed both Wijai, 51, and the plaintiff 61-year-old Bancha Porameesanaporn, himself a a high profile attorney
Thanin died in hospital after a policeman returned fire and hit him in the shootout
Two other people, the claimant’s wife and another lawyer were left with critical injuries
Chaos: Two of the three victims people who were killed in a courtroom gun battle in Thailand on Nov 12 after a defendant opened fire as he waited for the verdict in a land dispute
The shootings occurred when the defendant and plaintiff in a perjury case were waiting for a judge to arrive at a court in Chanthaburi province, east of Bangkok.
Retired policeman Thanin Chantratip shot dead the plaintiff and his lawyer before he himself was killed by police.
As an argument broke out, defendant Thanin Chantratip, 67, pulled out a pistol, shooting dead plaintiff Bancha Porameesanaporn and one of his lawyers, Wijai Sukharom.
Witnesses said 67-year-old Thanin pulled a Glock .22 handgun from his waist after arguing with opposing lawyer Wijai Sukharom.
The retired senior policeman shot dead two people in broad daylight before being gunned down at a courtroom on Tuesday, as a decade-long legal battle turned violent.
51-year-old attorney, Wijai, was killed and his client Bancha Porameesanaporn, 61, was later pronounced dead in hospital.
The chaos stopped when a policeman in the courtroom returned fire in the melee, hitting the shooter.
Thanin later died in hospital from his injuries.
Thanin was then fatally shot by an on-duty policeman in the courtroom.
EMTs attend to one of the victims killed after a defendant in a civil case pulled a Glock .22 handgun from his waist following an argument with an opposing lawyer and started shooting
The courtroom in Chanthaburi was left in shambles after the shooting on Tuesday morning initiated by a litigant in a civil dispute
Onlookers said Thanin and Wijai had started arguing after they arrived at court this morning to hear the verdict.
The Chanthaburi Provincial Court said the two sides who had been engaged in a 10-year dispute over land carried on through several criminal and civil cases, frequently argued in previous hearings.
Thai media reports the defendant Thanin Chantratip is the former deputy inspector-general of the Royal Thai Police Office.
The defendant B Bancha Porameesanaporn was a high-profile lawyer who defended former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra during her rice-pledging scheme case.
Shocking images circulated on social media show bodies lying in a pool of blood in the courtroom.
Police are investigating how people were able to bring in weapons into the courtroom.
Police major general Charan Jitchuejun, deputy commander of Chanthaburi police, said an investigation had been opened into the shooting.
He added: ‘We are sure that the culprit is Mr Thanin Chantratip and that the victim was his rival in court.
‘The injured parties were the wife of the victim and two other lawyers.
‘The cause of the dispute is a civil lawsuit relating to land which has been going on for more than 10 years.
‘Three people are dead and currently two are injured from gunshot wounds.’
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