A
Thai soldier who taunted victims and viewers on Facebook Live, leaving as many
as 26 dead, “went mad” and went on a killing rampage over the sale of a house. A Thai soldier angry over a land deal went on a
shooting spree that killed at least 26 people, most of them in a shopping mall
in the northeast that he fled to in a stolen Humvee after shooting his
commanding officer, officials said. Thai security forces shot and killed the
soldier morning after an overnight standoff at the Terminal 21 shopping centre
in the north-eastern Thai city of Nakhon Ratchasima. The soldier was armed with
an assault weapon and ammunition stolen from the army base's arsenal, an
official said. He initially posted written messages on Facebook during the
attack before his account was shut down by the company.
https://www.news.com.au/world/asia/thai-soldier-kills-many-in-shooting-rampage/news-story/15150801a4bfbe95da90ad921b6e1a0b
A Thai soldier who killed at least 26 people before being shot dead in a mall by commandos went on the rampage because of a debt dispute, officials confirm.
Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha said the youngest shot dead by Sergeant-Major Jakrapanth Thomma, a junior army officer, was a male aged 13 years.
Others killed by Thomma included civilians and security forces at the Terminal 21 mall in Nakhon Ratchasima, also known as Korat, where the attack took place.
Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha (dark jacket) visiting one of the survivors of the shooting at the Terminal 21 shopping mall at the Maharat Nakhon Ratchasima Hospital.
“It is unprecedented in Thailand, and I want this to be the last time this crisis happens,” Prayut said.
The former army chief added a “personal problem” over the sale of a house was what sparked the soldier’s rampage, which began on Saturday afternoon near an army barracks and was for several hours relayed by the gunman via Facebook posts.
“No one can escape death,” read one of the gunman’s posts.
https://www.news.com.au/world/asia/thai-soldier-kills-many-in-shooting-rampage/news-story/15150801a4bfbe95da90ad921b6e1a0b
Hundreds
of shoppers fled the mall in groups crouching low, and the police and army
launched several rescues during the more than 12-hour standoff, with armed
forces at one point emerging at a run carrying small children.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-51431690
Most
of those who were killed were in the shopping mall.
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.
Police
named the shooter as 32-year-old soldier Jakrapanth Thomma. He reportedly
worked at an army base close to Nakhon Ratchasima, which is about 250km from
the capital Bangkok.
Thai
media said the suspect was a sharp-shooter and gun enthusiast who often posed
with weapons on social media
The
killings began yesterday when the soldier opened fire in a house before moving
to an army camp and then to the mall.
"It
was a personal conflict ... over a house deal," Prime Minister Prayuth
Chan-ocha told reporters this morning from Nakhon Ratchasima after travelling
there to meet with wounded survivors.
Mr
Prayuth added that the conflict was with a relative of the soldier's commanding
officer.
The
commanding officer was one of the people reported killed before the soldier
moved on to the shopping mall and began shooting.
*This screenshot made from the Facebook life-stream video of Thai soldier
Jakrapanth Thomma during an attack northeast of Bangkok.
A Thai soldier who killed at least 26 people before being shot dead in a mall by commandos went on the rampage because of a debt dispute, officials confirm.
Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha said the youngest shot dead by Sergeant-Major Jakrapanth Thomma, a junior army officer, was a male aged 13 years.
Others killed by Thomma included civilians and security forces at the Terminal 21 mall in Nakhon Ratchasima, also known as Korat, where the attack took place.
Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha (dark jacket) visiting one of the survivors of the shooting at the Terminal 21 shopping mall at the Maharat Nakhon Ratchasima Hospital.
“It is unprecedented in Thailand, and I want this to be the last time this crisis happens,” Prayut said.
The former army chief added a “personal problem” over the sale of a house was what sparked the soldier’s rampage, which began on Saturday afternoon near an army barracks and was for several hours relayed by the gunman via Facebook posts.
“No one can escape death,” read one of the gunman’s posts.
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