Schools suspend classes amid hunt for armed man in Pathum Thani

At least 17 schools in Pathum Thani and adjacent Nonthaburi have been ordered to suspend classes as an armed man remains on the run after a series of violent incidents linked to a family dispute.

Pathum Thani police say that they are intensifying efforts to track down a man in his 30s, who is suspected of opening fire on a rescue vehicle and later taking his father-in-law hostage.

The suspect, identified only as ‘Nopparat’, is believed still to be armed.

According to the police, the first incident occurred shortly before midnight on February 15, on Highway No. 7, when rescue workers stopped to inspect a pickup truck parked in an emergency lane.

The suspect allegedly fired two shots at the rescue vehicle, damaging its tyres, before fleeing into a nearby wood.

Officers later found a large quantity of fresh kratom leaves inside the pickup truck. The suspect’s wife managed to escape unharmed.

At around 2am on February 17, the man reportedly returned to his home in Lat Lum Kaeo district of Pathum Thani and forced his father-in-law into a vehicle, reportedly in an attempt to pressure his wife to meet him.

The father-in-law later escaped after jumping from the vehicle when it slowed down.

Police searched the house later that morning, but the suspect escaped through a window carrying a firearm.

Authorities have stressed that the case stems from domestic conflict and that there is no evidence of any plan to attack schools, countering rumours circulating on social media. No injuries have been reported.

Nevertheless, as a precaution, at least 17 schools ordered an emergency one-day closure today to ensure student and staff safety.

The decision follows last week’s shooting at a school in Hat Yai, Songkhla province, in which a teenage gunman killed a school director and injured several students.