The body of Anupong Suebsamarn, the Thai tourist killed in a mass shooting at a Christmas market in France’s Strasbourg, arrived in Thailand this weekend for funeral rites.
The 45-year-old’s Buddhist funeral services are being held at Thep Nimit, a temple in his hometown in central Chachoengsao province. The services began on Saturday night with the arrival of his body, and will continue until the cremation taking place this coming Saturday.
His uncle Suchart thanked the Thai Embassy in Paris for assisting the family in transporting Anupong’s body home, Sanook reported.
There have been no further comments from the family.
On the night of Dec. 11, Cherif Chekatt, a 29-year-old local whom the Islamic State jihadist group claimed as one of its “soldiers,” opened fire on shoppers at the market in the French city bordering Germany.
The Thai tourist, who operated his family’s noodle factory in Chachoengsao, had only arrived in France with his wife Naiyana the day before he was tragically shot dead.
A witness at the scene of the shooting, Peter Fritz, told the BBC one that Anupong was shot in the head and did not respond to lengthy attempts to revive him.
“We tried our best to resuscitate him. We applied CPR. We dragged him into a restaurant close by,” Fritz said.
The man claimed it took more than 45 minutes for an ambulance to arrive, during which time an emergency doctor advised them by telephone “that any further efforts would be futile.”
The victim “is still here in this restaurant but we have abandoned all hope for him,” Fritz said.
Chekatt was later shot dead by local police three days after the attack. According to the latest update, the death toll from the shooting has climbed to five.
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