BANGKOK - A headmaster was arrested Wednesday (Jan 22) as the key suspect in a shooting spree that shocked Thailand, police said, after a manhunt for the masked gunman who killed three people including a toddler in an armed robbery.

The teacher was hauled in by commandos to a police station in central Lopburi province, under the glare of TV cameras and with bystanders cheering the arrest.

The bloody crime on Jan 9 was caught on CCTV, showing an attacker storming a jewellery shop and shooting indiscriminately before fleeing with loot worth 500,000 baht (S$22,000).