At least 17 people have been killed and ‘many’ injured after a soldier went on a shooting rampage in a shopping centre in Thailand, according to local reports.
Soldier Jakraphanth Thomma is still at large, a defence ministry spokesman told the BBC, after opening fire at Terminal 21 shopping mall on Saturday in the city of Korat, north-east of Bangkok. The incident reportedly began at about 3.30pm local time (8.30am in the UK) and appeared to be unresolved five hours later.
There were “17 deaths, 14 wounded” late Saturday, said an unnamed spokesperson from Bangkok’s Erawan Center – the dispatch centre for emergency services across the country. There were ’17 deaths, 14 wounded’ late Saturday, said an unnamed spokesperson from Bangkok’s Erawan Center – the dispatch centre for emergency services across the country.
The junior officer first shot dead his commander at a military camp where he is stationed and stole a gun, said the spokesman. Other reports say he had been involved in an argument about a land deal and killed his boss and a man and woman there before fleeing the scene in a stolen Humvee vehicle.
Local reports say at least 12 people have been killed, while officials have not yet revealed the death toll.
A police spokesperson said: ‘The gunman used a machine gun and shot innocent victims resulting in many injured and dead.’
A Facebook page where he was documenting the attack has now been taken down after he videoed himself, dressed in military uniform saying: ‘I’m tired now. I can’t move my finger anymore,’ while pulling a trigger motion with his finger.
During the attack he posted a series of comments saying: ‘Bad luck, cramp. Should I give up?… Are they dead those 3 people?’
In the hours before the shooting he wrote: ‘Rich from cheating, taking advantage of others. Do you think they can spend money in hell?… Can’t escape death everyone.’
He also posted several videos of the final scene of the film Joker, during which the character pulls out a gun and begins shooting a chat show audience.
Just hours before the massacre he uploaded a picture which appeared to show his hand brandishing a gun, with the caption: ‘Death is inevitable for everyone’.
Defence ministry spokesman Kongcheep Tantrawanit said: ‘We don’t know why he did this. It appears he went mad.’
Videos taken outside the mall and shared on social media showed people taking cover in a parking lot as gunshots were fired.
Graphic video footage shows Thomma getting out of his vehicle before opening fire on civilians who immediately start running in terror.
Several gunshots can be heard in the video, while other images show victims’ lifeless bodies inside cars with shattered windows and on the ground.
It is believed a gas canister was struck during the massacre causing the fire, but it is not yet clear whether this was intentional.
The mall was shut down and the street outside was closed while authorities attempted to arrest the gunman.
Korat, also known as Nakhon Ratchasima, is approximately 250 kilometers (155 miles) northeast of the Thai capital.
The Terminal 21 shopping mall is located on a major road near the center of the city, which is a hub for Thailand’s relatively poorer and rural northeastern region.
Gun violence is not unheard of in Thailand. Firearms can be obtained legally, and many Thais own guns.
Mass shootings are rare, however, apart from the far south of the country, where authorities have for years battled a long-simmering separatist insurgency.
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