A Thai Soldier Rages, Dozens Of Civilians Killed

Illustration (Unsplash)

JAKARTA - A Thai soldier carried out a shooting near the Nakhon Ratchasima mall in northeast Thailand. He performed the action on Saturday, February 8, around 3pm local time to Sunday, February 9 morning.

Prior to the action, the perpetrator identified by the police, named Jakrapanth Thomma (32), uploaded the desire for revenge (without explaining the intention) to Facebook. He carried out a shooting at a house, then to a military camp, then to the mall.

Reporting from Reuters, Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters at the scene that members of the security forces were killed and two others injured in the attack.

As he spoke, a series of further explosions and shootings echoed from the Terminal 21 mall. During their run, police closed roads around the mall and kept journalists behind security guards.

"This attack brings the death toll to 21," said Anutin, Sunday, February 9.

After the raid, Reuters video images showed one victim being taken to an ambulance. Others staggered out of the building and were helped by a stretcher. As many as 31 other people were injured.

Thai media said the suspected shooter had worked at the military base in Nakhon Ratchasima, which is about 250 km (155 miles) from the capital Bangkok.

Ministry of Defense spokesman Kongcheep Tantrawanit did not know why Jakrapanth had taken this action. "It looks like he's gone crazy," Kongcheep told Reuters.

He added that it was unclear how many visitors and workers were inside the shopping center after soldiers and police evacuated there.

"It was scary because I could hear the occasional gunshot ... we waited for the police to come to our aid, long enough, for hours," said a visitor to the mall, Suvanarat Jirattanasakul, 27, whose voice trembled during an interview.

The mall was busy with visitors, as it was a long weekend for the Buddhist Makha Bucha holiday.

CCTV footage from inside the mall posted on social media shows the gunman dressed in black and wearing a mask, his gun slung over his shoulder in the absence of anyone else. He walked in the mall.

Meanwhile, the suspect's social media account has been deleted by Facebook. "There is no place on Facebook for people to commit this kind of atrocity, nor do we allow people to praise or support such attacks," a Facebook representative said in a statement.

Shooting like this is rare in a Southeast Asian country. Actions like this usually occur in several countries in Southeast Asia that have rebel groups.

Nakhon Ratchasima is one of the largest cities in northeast Thailand, a relatively prosperous island in a rice-growing area that is one of the poorest parts of a country of 69 million people.