Police in Thailand
said that they were on the hunt for a soldier in the Thai Army who opened fire
and killed at least 20 people and injured many others.
The shooting took
place in Thailand’s Nakhon Ratchasima Province, also known as Korat, on
Saturday.
“At the moment, we are
trying to capture the guy. Both police and military forces have been deployed
to the area,” Krissana Pattanacharoen, a police spokesperson said.
The suspect, Sub. Lt.
Jakraphanth Thomma, is a junior officer who allegedly shot and killed his
commanding officer before stealing weapons from a military base.
Pattanacharoen said
the gunman’s motive remains unknown at this point of the investigation, but the
suspect did post images of his attack on social media.
He wrote a post on
Facebook earlier in the day saying, “Death is inevitable for everyone,” and
posted a picture of what looked like his hand holding a gun. At one point after
the shooting rampage began, he allegedly wrote, “Should I give up?” before the
posts and his account became inaccessible, Al Jazeera News reported.
The attack began at
the Suatham Phithak military camp, where the commanding officer, identified as
Col. Anantharot Krasae, was killed. A 63-year-old woman and another man were
also killed at the military camp.
The suspect seized
guns and ammunition before fleeing the scene in a Humvee and opening fire at
different places along the way before he arrived at the Terminal 21 shopping
center.
Local media reports
say the suspect got out of his vehicle and opened fire as people fled.
CCTV footage shows the
alleged gunman inside the shopping center with a rifle.
Defence ministry
spokesman Lt Gen Kongcheep Tantravanich said 20 people were among the dead.
Authorities have
closed off the shopping center in their attempt to track down the suspect, who
is believed to be inside the building. Police have issued warnings to people to
stay at home.
Thailand’s Prime
Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha tweeted condolences to the families of those killed
or injured during the attack.