Bangkok: A policeman in southern Thailand
shot dead six fellow officers before turning the gun on
himself after a drinking session in a police canteen turned
sour, local police said on Tuesday.
The incident, which also left one policeman severely
wounded, took place last night in a border patrol police camp
in Phatthalung province, some 840 kilometres south of the
capital Bangkok.
"Seven men were found dead including the gunman and one
man has critical injuries," Phatthalung police investigator
Lieutenant Colonel Prasit Singhapol told AFP by phone.
Prasit said the motive was still unknown but the eight
men had been drinking together in the canteen where six of the
bodies were found.
"At this stage we think it's a personal conflict," he
said.
The gunman's body was found some 200 metres from the
scene after he killed himself with the same assault rifle he
used against his colleagues, Prasit said.
Police were unable to confirm local media reports that
the group was celebrating the promotions of some of the men.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, December 27, 2011, 16:27