Authorities surrounded a house in Uttaradit after a son-in-law shot his mother-in-law to death and then fled inside. Officials deployed tear gas before storming the house and found he had taken his own life. The motive is believed to be revenge after the mother-in-law reported him for assault.
On 15 December 2025 at 08:07, police received a report of a shooting at a house in Fai Luang subdistrict, Laplae district, Uttaradit province. They promptly went to the scene accompanied by rescue volunteers.
At the scene, the house was elevated with a concrete lower floor and wooden upper floor. They found a gunshot victim, Mrs. Arun Butda, 68, shot in the back of the head with the bullet exiting near her right eyebrow. Rescue volunteers tried to save her and transported her to the hospital, where she later died.
The suspect was identified as Mr. Wirung Udjai, 42, Mrs. Arun's son-in-law. After the shooting, he hid inside the house. Police tried to negotiate his surrender, but during this, they heard gunfire and had to retreat. They then coordinated with the Uttaradit provincial tactical unit to surround and control the area. The suspect's father and son announced via loudspeaker for him to surrender, but he did not respond.
Subsequently, the Uttaradit tactical unit entered the house and continued attempts to negotiate, receiving no reply. They then used tear gas inside. After the gas cleared, they found the suspect had died by suicide using a firearm. Forensics are currently investigating.
Mrs. Lamphaen, 36, the suspect's wife, said her husband worked as a laborer and regularly used drugs and alcohol. When under the influence, he would physically abuse her and had previously assaulted his mother-in-law, who had filed a police report about the abuse. At the time of the incident, she was selling goods at the market, and their two children were at school. She believes the motive was revenge for the mother-in-law reporting him for assault.