A gunman has shot three people dead including a child in the country’s insurgency-hit south, police said, as authorities pursued the suspect.
The attacker opened fire late on Friday in a residential area of Tak Bai district, Narathiwat province.
Three people were killed, including a nine-year-old girl and a 75-year-old man, police said.
“One victim died at the scene and two others succumbed to their injuries at the hospital,” local police officer Watthana Thurarat said, adding that two more people were wounded.
Police believe the suspect, who remains at large, is linked to a rebel group, Watthana said.
Violence frequently rocks the kingdom’s southern provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala, where separatists seeking greater autonomy for the religiously distinct region have killed more than 7,000 people since 2004.
However, attacks on unarmed civilians in residential areas remain relatively rare with most targeting security personnel.
In 2004, Thai security forces shot into a crowd of protesters outside a police station in Tak Bai, killing seven. — AFP
