A gunman shot dead two neighbors and a deliveryman before he was killed by police following a 15-hour standoff in southern Thailand.

Anuwat Waenthong, 29, had an argument with the victims two weeks ago before he opened fire yesterday then barricaded himself in his house following the rampage in Phetchaburi province.

Police chiefs said that Anuwat also killed a passing deliveryman and injured three officers but refused to surrender - leaving them no option but to unload several rounds from automatic rifles into his chest.

Lieutenant General Thanayut Wutthicharatthamrong said: 'The gunman was a risk to our men. He would not surrender so we went in.'

Officers said that Anuwat was scheduled to appear in court that day for charges filed by his neighbours Ratthakorn Thongkaew, 22, Pasit Aim-oat, 22, but the suspect did not appear.

He was accused of harassing them following an argument that started when he began swearing at them as they arrived home.

On Wednesday afternoon, he took a gun and shot both of them in a residential area, also killing a passing delivery man Sirapat Watthana, 27, who was riding a motorcycle at the time.

Police converged on his house near schools and care centres, and evacuated some 40 kids to safety while cordoning off the area. The cops could not force entry as Anuwat was shooting at them from inside.

Officers brought the suspect's mum to the scene to reason with him, but he still refused to come out.

The defiant gunman reportedly posted on his social media a message that read: 'Fight hard until the end, eventually everyone will face death' as he stood off against police.

The victims' bodies were finally retrieved after 10 hours when the police brought in an armored vehicle shortly before midnight. A barrage of around 50 gunshots were heard at about 1 AM.

The Special Operations Unit of the provincial police made several more attempts to breach the residence before facing off and killing Anuwat at 4 AM on March 23.

Police Lieutenant General Thanayut Wutthicharatthamrong said he had tried to end the conflict peacefully, but resorted to deadly force as Anuwat continued firing volleys of bullets at the commandos.

He said: 'My men would have been shot many times without their shields. More people could have been endangered if we didn't end the stand-off quickly.

'The suspect was given the chance to surrender. We had no option but to shoot him dead.'

Three people were also injured during Anuwat's rampage.

Narakorn, a friend of Pasit and Ratthakorn, said Anuwat had allegedly hit Pasit using a gun a month before the shooting.

The incident comes after another trigger-happy gunman in the outskirts of Bangkok had holed himself up at home last week and forced police into a 27-hour standoff that ended with him dying in a hospital.