Thai soldier kills at least 20 people in shooting rampage

Soldier opens fire in several places including a house and an army base, before heading to mall

THAILAND: A Thai soldier killed at least 20 people in a shooting rampage in northeastern Thailand on Saturday, posting messages on Facebook during the attack, and was holed up in a shopping mall nine hours after he first struck, authorities said.

NAKHON RATCHASIMA: At least 12 people were reported killed and an unknown number injured in a shooting spree by a soldier who sprayed bullets at a commander, fellow soldiers and civilians in Muang district on Saturday. #BangkokPost #Thailand pic.twitter.com/FqO0nrKV0x

— ดูเท่านั้น (@nowe_u) February 8, 2020

Security forces blocked the street leading to the Terminal 21 mall in the city of Nakhon Ratchasima.

Groups of soldiers and police could be seen heading in as rescue workers waited nearby, nearly 10 hours after the soldier began his attacks in another part of the city.



Earlier, security forces had stormed the mall and helped hundreds of people escape, but the gunman was still at large inside, defense ministry spokesperson Kongcheep Tantrawanit told Reuters.

The soldier opened fire in several places, including a house and an army base, before heading to the mall in Nakhon Ratchasima, which is about 250 km (155 miles) from the capital Bangkok, police said.

Local media showed footage of the soldier getting out of a car in front of the mall and firing off a series of shots, sending people fleeing for cover.

BREAKING: At least 17 dead and 21 injured in shooting spree in northeast Thailand; suspect is believed to be holding hostages https://t.co/D01zm55IIx

— BNO News (@BNONews) February 8, 2020

“We don’t know why he did this. It appears he went mad,” Kongcheep said.

One video from a bystander showed a man slumped at the wheel of a car in a pool of blood. It was unclear if he was among the dead. Another video showed at least four people who had clearly been shot and showed no sign of movement.

CCTV footage from inside the mall posted on social media showed the gunman dressed in black and wearing a mask, his gun slung over his shoulder with no sign of other people around.

Kongcheep said at least 20 people had been killed and it was not clear whether the gunman had taken hostages in the mall.

“It’s not known how many are still inside,” he said.

Police identified the suspect as Jakrapanth Thomma. During the attack he posted “Death is inevitable for everyone” on his Facebook page and later asked “Should I give up?”