Thai soldier kills 20 in mass shooting

Bangkok, February 8

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A Thai soldier gunned down at least 20 persons and injured 14 in an attack which he shared on Facebook, emergency services said Saturday.

The attack in the northeastern city of Nakhon Ratchasima began late in the afternoon at an army barracks, police said. Among the dead was one soldier, when Sergeant-Major Jakrapanth Thomma opened fire. “He stole an Army vehicle and drove into the town centre,” police Lieutenant-Colonel Mongkol Kuptasiri.

Local media reported the gunman seized weapons from the Army arsenal before embarking on a shooting spree in the centre of the town. In a fast-moving incident, authorities could not confirm local media reports the gunman had taken up to 16 hostages. Video and photos circulating online relayed panicked scenes on a main road in the city — which is better known as Korat.

People fled while at least one fire roared as what appeared to be the sound of automatic gunfire filled the air. The gunman also posted photos of himself and wrote several posts on his Facebook page including “should I surrender” and “no one can escape death”.

In one Facebook video — since deleted — the assailant, wearing an army helmet, filmed from an open jeep saying, “I’m tired… I can’t pull my finger anymore” and making a trigger symbol with his hand. There were also photos of a man in a ski mask holding up a pistol.

“The gunman used a machine gun and shot innocent victims resulting in many injured and dead,” spokesman Krissana Pattanacharoen said, adding that the standing toll was “more than 10”. — AFP