Thai Police Officer Engaged In Armed Standoff With Special Units - Reports

A police officer in Thailand fired dozens of shots into the air before barricading himself at home on Tuesday, Thai media reported, saying Special Branch units were at the scene

BANGKOK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th March, 2023) A police officer in Thailand fired dozens of shots into the air before barricading himself at home on Tuesday, Thai media reported, saying Special Branch units were at the scene.

Police were alerted to the shooting in the morning after the gunman, who is said to be a Special Branch inspector in his 40s, opened fire in the Sai Mai neighborhood of Bangkok, the Thairath daily newspaper reported.

Neighbors were evacuated or ordered to shelter at home. There were no reports of people injured.

Special Branch commandos have the suspect's home cordoned off. They reportedly fired tear gas and smoke grenades into the building, to which the holed-up officer responded with a burst of 20 shots from what is believed to be a short-barreled gun.

The head of the branch tried to negotiate with the shooter but he reportedly refused to leave the house and poured water on commandos gathered outside the window.

The man has a record of mental illness, Thairath reported.

Another Thai police officer went on a rampage at a daycare in the country's northeast in October 2022 after he was fired from his job over his drug abuse. The man killed more than 30 people, most of them children, before taking his own life.