At least 21 people have been killed after a Thai soldier – who is still on the loose – went on a shooting spree and took hostages inside a shopping mall, sharing selfies on social media during his carnage.
The gunman started his shooting spree around 3 pm (0800 GMT) Saturday, eventually killing at least 20 visitors, injuring over 30, and taking hostages inside a busy Terminal 21 shopping center in Korat, also known as Nakhon Ratchasima, in northeast Thailand.
The gunman is still on the loose, believed to be holed up somewhere inside the shopping mall.
Thai armoury: the gunman, who is still at large & possibly holed up inside shopping mall after killing nearly 2 dozens of civilians & some authorities, has stolen
3 x HK33 rifles plus 736 bullets
2 x M60 automatic machine guns with 2 100-rounds belts
The suspect was identified as junior army officer Jakraphanth Thomma – a shooting instructor in his unit, and a sniper who has completed a special forces program. Just before the carnage at the mall he killed his commander and two others, and stole weapons, ammunition and a Humvee from his military base.
In a shootout with SWAT at the shopping mall’s parking lot on Sunday night, the gunman killed one special forces serviceman and injured another, bringing the death toll to at least 21.
Videos shared on social media showed chaos and panic as people fled the scene. While local media said all civilians have been evacuated out of the mall and surrounding areas, Thai health minister expressed concerns that there could still be civilians inside, including injured people.
During the rampage, the suspect reportedly posted updates to his Facebook page, such as “No one can escape death,” and “Should I give up?”. Facebook has deleted the suspect’s account, denying reports that the murder spree was livestreamed on their platform.
