Thai soldier who killed 20 shot dead in shopping mall siege

Thai security forces on Sunday shot and killed a rogue soldier who went on a rampage in a shopping mall in a northeastern city, ending an overnight siege after a series of attacks that left at least 20 people dead.

Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul confirmed the soldier had been shot dead at the Terminal 21 mall in the city of Nakhon Ratchasima.

"Thank you police and army for ending the situation. Shooter shot dead!!!" Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said in a post on Facebook. Police and the army also said he had been killed.

Police have identified the suspected shooter as 32-year-old soldier Jakrapanth Thomma.

The killings began at around 3 p.m. (0800 GMT) on Saturday when the soldier opened fire in a house before moving to an army camp and then to the mall, posting messages on Facebook as he went.

Thai media said the suspected shooter had worked at an army base close to Nakhon Ratchasima, which is about 250 km (155 miles) from the capital Bangkok. Before the attack, Jakrapanth had posted on his Facebook account that he was out for vengeance — but he did not say for what.

A provincial health official told a news conference that a total of 20 people had been killed and 42 wounded, revising down an earlier figure of 21 dead given by other officials.

"We don't know why he did this. It appears he went mad," Defense Ministry spokesman Kongcheep Tantrawanit told Reuters. Overnight, soldiers and police stormed into the mall and escorted hundreds of trapped people to safety.

Thai media said the suspect's mother was being taken to the mall to try to persuade him to give up. Video showed her in tears saying "why did he do it?" as she got in a police vehicle.

Major shootings are rare in the Southeast Asian country other than in the far south, where a decades-old insurgency persists.

A woman told Thailand's Channel One television she heard gunshots when she was at the mall and hid in a clothing store with other people before escaping.

The shooter first went to a house in the city and shot two people dead before going to an army base, where he took a gun from the weapons store and fired at people, local police said.

Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul asked on his Facebook page for blood donations at four hospitals in the area.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha expressed condolences to the families of those killed, a government spokeswoman said.

Nakhon Ratchasima is one of the biggest cities in northeastern Thailand, a rice growing area and one of the poorest parts of the country of 69 million people.

(Source: Reuters)

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