Thai security forces have killed a soldier after he carried out a shooting rampage that left at least 21 people dead, police and military sources said on Sunday.
He had been killed at the shopping mall where he was holed up in the north-eastern city of Nakhon Ratchasima, they said.
“The police have killed the perpetrator and rescued eight hostages. Some were wounded,” one of the security sources said.
Both declined to be named because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The killings began about 3 pm on Saturday when the soldier opened fire in a house before moving to an army camp and then to the mall in Nakhon Ratchasima in north-eastern Thailand.
Reports emerged late on Saturday night of renewed gunfire within the building. Automatic weapons were reported to have been heard before dawn local time as ambulances prepared to evacuate the wounded.
Footage taken outside the mall late on Saturday night showed crowds of people running out of the building, some clutching children and supporting elderly people. The total death toll is unclear.
Ms Uam, who works for an events company, spent hours hiding from the gunman inside a storage room. “It was about 5 pm that I heard the gunfire,” she told Thairath TV. “Then a crowd started running. I could see it clearly because I was in front of the mall. I saw him shooting and I saw him moving in front of the parking lot where he later took [a] selfie that he posted on Facebook.”
She hid with 30 other people for hours in the dark. “All of us switched off our phones. No one posted anything on social media,” she said. Eventually, with guidance from the police, they were able to flee at around 11 pm local time (4 pm GMT).
Firefighters also attended the scene after the gunman apparently shot at a gas canister.
The shooting began late on Saturday afternoon when the soldier reportedly attacked his commanding officer before stealing a gun, ammunition and an army vehicle from a military camp. He then proceeded to open fire at several locations across the city, which is more than 250km (155 miles) from Bangkok and is also known as Korat.
The soldier shot at people at a Buddhist temple as well as in the Terminal 21 mall, according to local media. Footage apparently taken during the attack showed people running from stalls to take cover. In videos taken outside the center, repeated gunfire can be heard in the background, while others show injured bodies lying on the pavement.
Terminal 21 has since been sealed off by police, who urged members of the public to remain at home. The police have named the suspect as Jakrapanth Thomma.
The defense ministry spokesman Kongcheep Tantrawanit told Reuters news agency: “We don’t know why he did this. It appears he went mad.”
Earlier on Saturday evening, Thai state broadcaster MCOT interviewed a man who gave his name as Mr Green and who said he was trapped inside the shopping center. He said the gunman, who was dressed in a soldier’s uniform, parked his vehicle in front of the mall and fired bullets before entering the building.
“I can’t run away because I don’t know where the shooter is. I am here with about 20 people. I saw some people running earlier. They ran for their lives and didn’t care about their shops,” he said while trapped inside the center.
Authorities have asked for blood donations and put hospitals on alert. Anutin Charnvirakul, the country’s health minister, said a doctor who had been shot at while treating another victim was among the injured.
Police told Agence France-Presse three people were killed when the suspect opened fire at the army barracks. “He stole an army vehicle and drove into the town center,” said police Lt Col Mongkol Kuptasiri.
Thailand has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the world but such attacks are rare in the country, other than in the far south, where a decades-old insurgency persists.
The suspect, whose motive is not clear, had posted on his Facebook page earlier in the day: “Death is inevitable for everyone.”
Facebook said the page has since been taken down, adding in a statement: “Our hearts go out to the victims, their families and the community affected by this tragedy in Thailand. There is no place on Facebook for people who commit this kind of atrocity, nor do we allow people to praise or support this attack.”
Source: The Guardian/Reuters/AFP
-Agencies
