Stunned employees rushed to the scene of the three-storey commercial premises near Sukhumvit after they heard the two French men arguing furiously and then heard four shots. Later, 48-year old David Bouton stumbled out of the kitchen area to meet them. He had a bullet wound to the left-hand side of his rib cage. He was taken to nearby Samitivej Hospital where he is currently being treated. Two bodies were found further inside the building in the ground floor work area.
A 66-year-old French man who arrived at a business premises on Wednesday in central Bangkok was killed in a shooting incident with his own gun after he attempted to execute a murder-suicide mission which he alluded to with scrawled notes in a notebook he brought to the scene. This is one of the theories being pursued by police at Thong Lor Police Station who are investigating the horrific incident which occurred while the employees of the firm were taking their daily lunch break.
The Metropolitan Police Bureau in Bangkok is investigating a fatal shooting in the city centre on Wednesday afternoon which saw a 66 year old French national killed as well as a Thai woman in what appears to have been a business dispute and murder-suicide attempt that did not go according to plan.
The shocking incident occurred at a business premises on Soi Sukhumvit 49/6 in the Khlong Tan Nuea area of the Watthana district of the city near Sukhumvit and quite near Samitivej Hospital.
66-year-old French man arrived at the premises after midday with his 43-year-old relationship partner
Employees of the Flying Board Bangkok Co., which supplies food items such as cold cuts, sausages and bacon to a range of hotels and eateries in the city and other regions, had taken a break at noon after which it is understood a French man, 66-year-old Marc Lohberger, one of the deceased victims of the shooting, arrived at the premises looking for the director, 48-year-old Mr David Bouton.
He is reported to have been accompanied by 43-year-old Wiranya Meeyai with whom the older man is understood to have been in a relationship with although the pair were not married.
An assistant chef, one of the staff members taking their break near the building, told police on Wednesday that shortly afterwards, she heard the two French men arguing furiously and then four shots rang out.
Gunfight ensued with a gun brought by the older French man to the murder scene in a black bag
Police are trying to piece together the evidence as to what happened in the course of the deadly incident and are waiting to interview Mr Bouton who was also shot in what appears to have developed into a gunfight during the disturbance on Wednesday, to answer their questions.
Police have retrieved CCTV footage from the scene which shows Mr Lohberger and Ms Wiranya arriving at the premises just after noon but it is understood that the work area on the first floor where the fatal shooting took place was not covered by the cameras.
However, they do know that Mr Lohberger, one of the two deceased along with his relationship partner Ms Wiranya, appears to have been the instigator of the incident and was carrying a black bag containing the firearm responsible for the killings and injury which occurred to Mr Bouton.
Employees heard shooting and gunfire
Police also recovered a notebook belonging to the 66-year-old which gave them some insight into what exactly happened on Wednesday as stunned employees of the business heard shouting and gunfire after which they rushed to the three-story commercial building to see Mr Bouton stumble out of the back work area carrying the gun and telling his staff he had been shot.
In the commotion, the gun was kicked under a locker while the 48-year-old was taken to nearby Samitivej Hospital after being reportedly shot in the left-hand side of his rib cage.
Police later found two bodies lying at the scene on the ground floor of the premises, 43-year-old Ms Wiranya and Frenchman Mr Lohberger.
The incident is being urgently investigated by police at Thong Lor and the investigation, which is being given the highest priority, is being overseen by Police Major General Jirasan Kaewsangek, the Deputy Commander-in-chief of the force.
Written notes by the dead Frenchman point to a murder-suicide plot which the 48-year-old Frenchman, Mr Bouton, somehow survived
The notebook retrieved at the scene suggests that Mr Lohberger felt that he had been cheated out of money or was at a financial loss because of Ms Wiranya and Mr Bouton.
The scribbled notes, written over three pages in English, suggest that Mr Lohberger had come to the business premises intending to murder both his relationship partner and the younger Frenchman.
The rambling message also mentioned a property dispute.
The handwritten notes suggested that the older man intended on taking his own life and requested that the money to be found in his clothes pockets be used for the cheapest possible funeral ceremony.
Younger French man thought to have taken the gun from Lohberger and killed his attacker in self-defence
It is understood that Mr Bouton, however, was able to wrestle the gun from the older man’s hands and killed him at the scene in what may have been self-defence.
There are also reports that Mr Bouton’s wife, identified as Ms Nam Pheong, was sleeping on the third floor of the building when the incident occurred while 4 to 5 employees were taking their break across the road from their workplace.
The Flying Board Bangkok Co. was established in Thailand in 2018 but reports on Wednesdays suggested the business had been trading for approximately two years.
It is also reported that the firm had 4 to 5 shareholders which is normal for Thai firms particularly when there are foreigners involved.
Police identified the gun involved in the fatal killings as a 9 mm Smith firearm found on the premises.
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