Thai Soldier Killed After Shooting, Killing At Least 20 People In Shopping Mall
Feb 8, 2020, 2:28 PM | Updated: 8:30 pm
Thai soldiers and paramedics gather outside the Terminal 21 shopping mall where dozens of terrified shoppers were evacuated amid a manhunt for a mass shooting suspect. (Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP/Getty Images)
(Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP/Getty Images)
(CNN) – A Thai soldier accused of killing more than 20 people and injuring 33 others in a shooting at a crowded shopping mall has been killed, bringing an end to a 12-hour manhunt, military officials said Sunday.
Lieutenant General Thanya Kiatsarn, commander of Thailand’s 2nd Army Region, announced the shooter was dead on Sunday morning.
The circumstances of his death are unconfirmed at this stage.
The standoff began on Saturday after the shooter started firing first at a military site and then at the Terminal 21 shopping mall in Thailand’s northeastern Nakhon Ratchasima province, known as Korat.
Frantic scenes from the mall overnight showed heavily armed Thai soldiers trying to shepherd terrified shoppers out to safety.
News footage from the scene showed people leaving the area in pickup trucks and cars as security forces surrounded the mall.
Thai authorities said the shooter was believed to be Army Sub. Lt. Jakrapanth Thomma, an ammunition battalion officer working for the 22nd Ammunition Battalion, defense ministry spokesman Lieutenant General Kongcheep Tantravanich said.
“In general, any military (officer) would be good at guns, but this man certainly has more skills,” he said.
The gunman’s motive wasn’t immediately clear, military officials said.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2020 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.
