UPDATE: Soldier Opens Fire in Thailand, Killing 21: Thai Police: Mission Completed. Gunman is Dead.
UPDATE: Shot Dead:
Jakraphanth Thomma killed his commanding officer and two others, stole weapons from a military base, went to a mall and continued his killer rampage. He killed 21. After a few hour manhunt, the security policy found him and shot him dead.
“Mission completed Waiting to hear the press release from the Royal Thai Police. We apologize for the incident. As well as condolences to the families of the victims and all injured Thank you to all the units that work together to help the people trapped in the scene,” police tweeted.
“Requesting a campaign not to reshare Picture of injured and dead persons In honor of the family that was lost in the tragic event….The Crime Suppression Division would like to extend my deepest condolences.”
BACKGROUND EARLIER :A manhunt is on after a junior soldier at a base who killed at least 20 people and wounded more than 21 near the city of Nakhon Ratchasima, known as Korat, more than 180 miles northeast of Bangkok, NPR’s Michael Sullivan reported. Police say the gunman shot a superior officer and others at the base.
The gunman fled the scene and resumed his shooting spree along the road to a mall and continued shooting at a nearby shopping mall. Police and soldiers rescued hundreds of people from a shopping mall as they continued to hunt for a gunman who had holed up inside after killing at least 20 people, Bangkok Post reported.
Around 3.30 pm, the soldier shot dead his commander and two others at the Surathampithak army camp before stealing weapons and ammunition and fleeing in a stolen Humvee.
Many more people were slain inside the mall, where the gunman live-streamed the mayhem on Facebook Live before his site was shut down.
The gunman used a machine gun and shot innocent victims dead” said Pol Col Krissana Pattanacharoen, the police spokesman according to the Bangkok Post report.
Police tweeted during the chaos:
At the moment, the culprit is still in the Terminal 21 mall. Korat still causes firefighting and fires inside the mall. People in the nearby area should be cautious. At this time, officers from all parts, including the “Sheriff”, are working in full force.