Soldier Kills Several in Thailand Shooting Spree, Police Say

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BANGKOK — A soldier armed with an assault rifle went on a shooting rampage at a military base and a shopping mall on Saturday, killing several people and broadcasting himself on Facebook Live, according to the police and local news reports.

The authorities said the gunman was a soldier who shot a superior officer and injured several others at the military base. He then drove northeast about nine miles from the base to the Terminal 21 shopping mall in the city of Korat, where he killed some of his victims, according to news reports.

Local news outlets, which said he traveled to the mall in a stolen Humvee, put the death toll at as many as 12.

A soldier believed to be connected to the attack posted footage of himself on his Facebook page on Saturday wearing a helmet and camouflage clothes. “I’m tired now,” he says at one point, and “I can’t move my finger anymore.” The Facebook page was taken down soon after.

Security camera footage from mall and shared on social media showed what appeared to be the gunman walking with a long gun past shops.

A police spokesman, Col. Krissana Pattanacharoen, said that a soldier had shot military officers but could not confirm the number of casualties or that the sergeant was the gunman.

A Defense Ministry spokesman, Lt. Gen. Kongcheep Tantravanich, also said that a soldier had shot a number of people at Suthampitak Army Base in Nakhon Ratchasima Province.

“He shot and killed his superior officer,” he said. “He also shot and injured military officers.”

The area around the mall in Korat had been cordoned off, and local news outlets reported that many people were trapped inside the mall as the siege continued.

Ryn Jirenuwat reported from Bangkok, and Richard C. Paddock from Denpasar, Indonesia. Muktita Suhartono contributed reporting from Bangkok.





Source : Nytimes