A couple sustained serious injuries in Mondulkiri’s O’Raing district on Saturday night when a man they believe had recently proposed to their daughter allegedly fired multiple shots into their home with an AK-47 assault rifle while they slept, police said yesterday.

According to deputy O’Raing district police chief Sok Sovann, victims Ith Thol, 55, and his wife, Soeung Kea, 53, were shot in their right thighs at around 11:15pm. After the shooting, the suspect fled into the forest, while the couple was rushed to the Mondulkiri referral hospital for treatment, he added.

“However, so far, our police have already identified the suspect and are working to arrest him to bring him to justice,” Sovann told the Post yesterday.

O’Raing district police official Eng Chhungly said that the victims’ family said they suspected Chak Sok, a thrice-married thirtysomething who had recently proposed to the victims’ daughter, Thol Chanthoeun.

Chanthoeun’s parents had refused to allow the wedding, and forbade Sok from coming to the house, fearing he might act inappropriately around their daughter, he continued.

“According to police’s primary conclusion, it is a case of rancour and premeditated murder,” Chhungly said.

Judging from the bullet casings left at the scene, police believe the suspect fired seven AK-47 rounds into the house before fleeing, he added.