Korat massacre – Shooter’s mother was unable to get into the shopping centre

[webfact]

Korat massacre – Shooter’s mother was unable to get into the shopping centre

By The Thaiger

 

 

More information is now coming to light over some of the background operations at play during the Saturday evening search for a crazed gunman, now dead, who was responsible for the killing of at least 30 people and wounding 58 others. Some of the 30 or so people currently in hospital are reported to be in critical condition… the final toll remains fluid. While most fatalities happened at the crime scenes, two victims died later in hospital during surgery.

 

The gunman was shot dead by members of a special forces division called ‘Hanuman’ around 9am on Sunday morning. Police have now revealed that they tried multiple times to persuade the 32 year old who had already killed 29, to surrender. They even brought the gunman’s mother to the besieged shopping centre to talk to her son.

 

The mother, from the gunman’s hometown in Chaiyaphum Province, just to the north of Nakhon Ratchasima, was taken to an area near the Terminal 21 mall but she was unable to get inside, according to security officials, who were unable to decide about the woman’s safety if she was taken in.

The mother, whose name has been withheld, told officials there was little point in talking to her son “as he had depression and an extremely bad temper”.

 

Holed up inside the shopping centre, the 32 year old gunman had a HK33 assault rifle that he had stolen from his army base located just outside Korat. He also got his hands on 800 rounds of ammunition and two smaller pistols.

 

Major General Jirapob Puridet was the man leading the security operations inside the building.

 

“We had to make the move of confronting him. People who were trapped inside a freezing room and sent messages to us that the oxygen level was very low and they were suffocating.”

 

“So we had to risk to confront him face to face otherwise people who were trapped inside would die.”

 

“One officer was killed and three others injured during the ensuing confrontation. At certain points the gun firing was nonstop.”

 

It took several hours for the police to get full control of the situation. Although the 17 hour-long series of events had started around 3.30pm on Saturday afternoon, it took another six hours before officials had the shopping centre and surrounding areas in secure lockdown. During that time the deranged shooter had been live-streaming his rampage in real time. Horrified viewers shared the footage causing a security nightmare for police. They became acutely aware that online coverage of their movements outside and inside the shopping centre were being viewed by the gunman.

 

Inside the shopping centre, confused shoppers and workers also had to piece together the series of events from the emerging stream of social media and messages.

 

27 year old Suvanarat Jirattanasakul, told Reuters that the shooter was aiming to kill, there was no mercy.

“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.”

“The gunman was aiming for the heads,” said ‘Diaw’ on local Amarin TV. “He was shooting everywhere and his shots were very precise.”

 

Yesterday afternoon Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha informed media that the rampage was “sparked by an argument the gunman had at his base with another soldier over a land-selling commission fee”.

 

The prime minister also confirmed that the gunman had taken hostages during the shopping centre seige but didn’t go into detail about how many people were involved or what happened to them.

 

After shooting his commanding officer and a 68 year old woman, the gunman then shot a fellow officer at the army base. He then took the officer’s gun and shot at other soldiers. After collecting other guns, ammunition and stealing a 4-wheel drive military Humvee. After the shooter drove out of the back gate of the military base, he drove to a temple and then to the shopping mall, shooting civilians along the way.

 

 

Source: https://thethaiger.com/news/north-east/korat-massacre-shooters-mother-was-unable-to-get-into-the-shopping-centre

 

 

-- © Copyright The Thaiger 2020-02-10

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[Matzzon]

That´s good. He probably would have shot her too.

[steven100]

he obviously wanted to go out in a blaze of glory that's for sure so his mum is lucky she didn't get to see him.  the remake of bonny & clyde 

[fruitman]

It beats me why they don't wear helmets.....i mean the shooter had more than a slingshot with him.....And where is the rest of their equipment? Radio's and stuff....compare this to a SWAT team..

 

 

 

[SpokaneAl]

33 minutes ago, fruitman said:

It beats me why they don't wear helmets.....i mean the shooter had more than a slingshot with him.....And where is the rest of their equipment? Radio's and stuff....compare this to a SWAT team..

 

 

 

Snipers normally do not wear helmets but caps, like these fellows on backwards or none at all.

[fruitman]

21 minutes ago, SpokaneAl said:

Snipers normally do not wear helmets but caps, like these fellows on backwards or none at all.

I see, but what if the shooter starts running around while firing on them?

 

And i don't see anything on the head of that hanuman team...yes i see headphones. Is that cap one is wearing a bulletproof cap?

[KhaoYai]

Were they planning on shooting through that glass then?

[steven100]

5 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

Were they planning on shooting through that glass then?

one panel of glass is smashed already however further along there are other panel still in place and those panels are at least 10mm thick if not more.

[canopy]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

They even brought the gunman’s mother to the besieged shopping centre to talk to her son...but she was unable to get inside

I was wondering if this would come out. The people running the operation wanted his mom to diffuse the situation as is common in such times, but this plan was overruled. By who? Clearly his mom would have gone in if allowed, that's why she was there. And they didn't even let her talk on a phone or something? Not saying the outcome would have necessarily been better, worse, or the same. I just find this very concerning some dark unnamed figure was pulling the strings rather than letting the experts do the job the way they were trained.

 

[KhaoYai]

21 minutes ago, steven100 said:

one panel of glass is smashed already however further along there are other panel still in place and those panels are at least 10mm thick if not more.

Do you see any eye protection?

[Thian]

17 minutes ago, canopy said:

I was wondering if this would come out. The people running the operation wanted his mom to diffuse the situation as is common in such times, but this plan was overruled. By who? Clearly his mom would have gone in if allowed, that's why she was there. And they didn't even let her talk on a phone or something? Not saying the outcome would have necessarily been better, worse, or the same. I just find this very concerning some dark unnamed figure was pulling the strings rather than letting the experts do the job the way they were trained.

 

Mum could also speak through the speakers of the mall i guess? 

[steven100]

5 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

Do you see any eye protection?

no .... they don't look to be wearing eye goggles of any sort.

the first two guys closest to the photographer don't have a glass panel in front but it certainly looks like the guys on the blue mat do, unless i'm mistaken.

[KhaoYai]

3 minutes ago, steven100 said:

no .... they don't look to be wearing eye goggles of any sort.

the first two guys closest to the photographer don't have a glass panel in front but it certainly looks like the guys on the blue mat do, unless i'm mistaken.

And yet some members here say these guys are professionals.

 

On a closer look, yes I agree there only seems to be a glass panel in the centre so I guess they would be OK to fire but the presence of the central glass panel makes it essential that they wear eye protection because of the high risk of shattering from incoming fire.