26 killed, at least 50 injured in Thai mass shooting: Prayut
BANGKOK. KAZINFORM A Thai soldier who went on a shooting rampage in northeastern Thailand killed 26 people and injured 57 others before being shot dead by security forces Sunday at a shopping mall where he had been holed up, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said, Kyodo reports.
The prime minister, speaking at a hospital, called the ordeal, which began Saturday afternoon at an army camp in Nakhon Ratchasima province, the worst mass shooting in the country's history.
The soldier, 31-year-old Jakrapanth Thomma, was killed around 9 a.m. inside the Terminal 21 mall, ending the 18-hour standoff, police chief Chaktip Chaijinda told a press conference in front of the mall.
The bloodshed began around 3 p.m. Saturday when Thomma allegedly shot dead his commanding officer and a woman at the senior officer's residence near Surathampitak army camp, the police said.
He then headed to the base where he stole an army jeep and weapons before driving to the nearby Terminal 21 mall, where he opened fire on shoppers and holed himself up.
Overnight, many civilians escaped from the mall and were rescued while gunfire was exchanged between the gunman and police.
Although the motive for the attack is unclear, local media reported that it may have stemmed from a financial dispute between the soldier and the commander.
«I thank you everybody, officials, private sectors, and people who jointly worked the whole night. We will overcome this together,» Prayut said on his official social media account, as he visited some of the injured people in a local hospital.
The Japanese Embassy said it had no information of any Japanese being killed or injured in the incident.