CONFIRMED: Thai mass shooter killed at shopping mall

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Thai mass shooter killed at shopping mall - security sources

 

 

NAKHON RATCHASIMA, Thailand (Reuters) - A Thai soldier who has killed at least 21 people in a shooting rampage was thought to be holed up in the basement of a shopping mall in northeastern Thailand on Sunday and security forces were closing in on him, a police officer said.

 

The officer said nine civilians had been evacuated from the shopping mall and security forces were checking whether any remained there.

 

"The perpetrator is still in the basement and it doesn't look as though he has hostages. We are getting close to him," said the officer who did not give his name because he was not authorised to speak to media.

 

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 in Nakhon Ratchasima in northeastern Thailand, posting messages on Facebook as he went.

 

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

 

Overnight, one member of the security forces was killed and at least two others wounded in a raid into the Terminal 21 mall to try to stop the gunman.

 

"We are doing our best. You can see that all our senior officers of the government have been assigned here," Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters at the scene. "All steps are being taken with precautions so that we can minimize the damage as much as we can."

 

More than 30 people have been wounded.

 

Police closed off streets around the mall and kept journalists behind a security cordon.

 

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.

 

'IT APPEARS HE WENT MAD'

 

"We don't know why he did this. It appears he went mad," Defence Ministry spokesman Kongcheep Tantrawanit told Reuters.

 

Overnight, soldiers and police stormed into the mall and escorted hundreds of trapped people to safety.

 

"It was frightening because I could hear the occasional gunshot ... we waited a long time for the police to come and help us, many hours." said Suvanarat Jirattanasakul, 27, her voice trembling after she emerged.

 

The mall was busy with shoppers on a long weekend for the Buddhist Makha Bucha holiday.

 

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.

 

Facebook <FB.O> said it had removed the suspect's account.

 

"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," a Facebook representative said in a statement.

 

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

 

Nakhon Ratchasima is one of the biggest cities in northeastern Thailand, an island of relative prosperity in a rice growing area that is one of the poorest parts of the country of 69 million people.

 

(Additional reporting by Athit Perawongmetha and Jiraporn Kuhakan in Nakhon Ratchasima, Patpicha Tanakasempipat, Panarat Thepgumpanat and Juarawee Kittisilpa in Bangkok; Writing by Kay Johnson and Matthew Tostevin; Editing by Daniel Wallis and David Gregorio)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-02-09

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Ongoing discussion of shooting: 

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Thai mass shooter killed 20, wounded 42 - health official

 

 

NAKHON RATCHASIMA Thailand, Feb 9 (Reuters) - A mass shooter in Thailand killed a total of 20 people and wounded 42 before he himself was shot dead by security forces on Sunday, a health official said.

 

This revised down an earlier figure of 21 dead which had been given by officials.

 

“The official number of the dead right now is 20 and 42 wounded. Of them, 21 are still in hospital and 21 have gone home,” Narinrat Phitchayakhamin, head of the Nakhon Ratchasima Provincial Office of Public Health told a news conference in the northeastern city.

 

(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-Um; Writing by Matthew Tostevin; Editing by Daniel Wallis)

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-02-09

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[Jonathan Fairfield]

Video shows moment Korat mall gunman killed by Thai special forces

 

Image: Screenshot

 

A video posted on Facebook purported to show the moment a man who went on a rampage at a shopping mall in Korat was killed by special forces soldiers.

 

The killing started on Saturday afternoon after when 32-year-old soldier Jakrapanth

Thomma killed two people at a house in Korat before making his way to the Terminal 21 Shopping Mall.

 

He went on to kill at least 20 people and injuring 40. He live streamed some of the killing spree on Facebook.

 

He then lay siege inside Terminal 21 for more than 17 hours before he was killed on Sunday morning. 

 

 

 

 

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Korat carnage death toll 27; suspect had conflict with his commander: PM

 

 

Twenty-seven people were killed in the Korat mass shooting, including the suspect, while 57 people were injured, Prime Minister General Prayut Cha-o-cha said on Sunday.

 

In a press conference held at Maharat Nakhon Ratchasima Hospital, he said 32 people were severely injured and eight had to undergo surgery.

The prime minister said that such an incident had never happened and he hoped it would never happen again. He said the public sector must learn from the tragedy how to handle similar situations in the future.

 

The government was shocked by the event, but it was ready to provide mental and financial support to the families of the victims, he said.

He expressed his gratitude to people who had donated blood, exemplifying the unity of the country when all sections of society collaborate.

 

Speaking about the motive for the carnage, the PM said the suspect, a soldier, was involved in the brokerage business with his commander and they had a conflict.

 

Earlier reports had suggested that they did a property brokerage business together, which reportedly led to a conflict and the suspect killing his commander and going on a shooting spree.

 

The PM warned the media against reporting news in a way that would aggravate an already divided society, by making reference to political conflicts between conservatives and liberal camps.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30381863

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-02-09

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[anchadian]

At last.

RIP to the many victims.

[petermik]

Well done and about time......R.I.P to the innocent victims......

[worgeordie]

Lets see if the real reasons come out on why he went on a killing

spree ,or will it be covered up, Crazed,drugged killer,

RIP all those who died.

regards Worgeordie

[Denim]

It was only a matter of time which was not on his side.

 

Dreadful experience for those who have lost innocent loved ones.

 

 

[dcsw53]

Tragic that LOS join this club, thankfully the world is rid of a very sick individual

[NCC1701A]

i saw a woman crying over the body of one of his victims he shot while driving. horrible.

[LennyW]

The newspaper that cannot be named updated at 9.23 (20 minutes ago) this morning says 25 confirmed dead and the hunt is still on for the shooter, who to believe?????

[Yadon Toploy]

6 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

Lets see if the real reasons come out on why he went on a killing

spree ,or will it be covered up, Crazed,drugged killer,

RIP all those who died.

regards Worgeordie

He already posted the reasons on his Facebook page before it was taken down.

[metempsychotic]

Thoughts and prayers.... 

[NCC1701A]

1 minute ago, LennyW said:

The newspaper that cannot be named updated at 9.23 (20 minutes ago) this morning says 25 confirmed dead and the hunt is still on for the shooter, who to believe?????

he is dead.

[Yadon Toploy]

1 minute ago, LennyW said:

The newspaper that cannot be named updated at 9.23 (20 minutes ago) this morning says 25 confirmed dead and the hunt is still on for the shooter, who to believe?????

He's been killed by security forces.

 

100% confirmed.

[Yadon Toploy]

6 minutes ago, dcsw53 said:

Tragic that LOS join this club, thankfully the world is rid of a very sick individual

This is the second mall mass shooting incident in a matter of weeks.

[xtof2]

RIP to the many victims.

Shame to FB who let this guy use FB live for hours !

 

[Isaanbiker]

Great news, let's hope he'll rot in hell.

 

   My sincere condolences to those who've lost their loved ones.

 

    

 

    

[steven100]

he won't be escaping ... i expect a sniper will take him out soon

[Bluespunk]

1 minute ago, steven100 said:

he won't be escaping ... i expect a sniper will take him out soon

He’s dead. 

[Peterw42]

5 minutes ago, xtof2 said:

RIP to the many victims.

Shame to FB who let this guy use FB live for hours !

 

Rubbish, the facebook live and the shooters account was shut down around 4pm yesterday.

[steven100]

Thailand shooting: Soldier who killed 21 is shot dead

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51431690

[Denim]

8 minutes ago, steven100 said:

he won't be escaping ... i expect a sniper will take him out soon

Did you bother to read the title of the thread ?

[Assurancetourix]

2 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

Rubbish, the facebook live and the shooters account was shut down around 4pm yesterday.

It's a shame;
we will never know why he did it.
The authorities will give us a scenario that is going well;
on the other hand the truth?
well you can sit on it; we will never get it.

[Roy Baht]

 

Thailand shooting: Soldier who killed 20 is shot dead

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51431690

 

Didn't believe for sure until I saw it on the BBC

[clarky cat]

10 minutes ago, Isaanbiker said:

Great news, let's hope he'll rot in hell.

 

   My sincere condolences to those who've lost their loved ones.

 

    

 

    

hell doesn't exist, if it does we are living in it already

[steven100]

3 minutes ago, Denim said:

Did you bother to read the title of the thread ?

yes ....  he's dead already

[Peterw42]

Just now, Assurancetourix said:

It's a shame;
we will never know why he did it.
The authorities will give us a scenario that is going well;
on the other hand the truth?
well you can sit on it; we will never get it.

The initial shooting , of his boss, was a financial dispute. After that the shooter posted that he killed the others to protect himself. So it appears a paranoid nutter

[steven100]

32 minutes ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

'IT APPEARS HE WENT MAD'

 

"We don't know why he did this. It appears he went mad," Defence Ministry spokesman Kongcheep Tantrawanit told Reuters.

well that's a reasonable assessment

[Assurancetourix]

2 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

The initial shooting , of his boss, was a financial dispute. After that the shooter posted that he killed the others to protect himself. So it appears a paranoid nutter

I read a story about 50,000 baht ..
Who can believe that an individual is going to make a carnage by going to kill strangers in a shopping center for a so-called story of 50,000 baht ...