EOD personnel were sweeping the scene of last night鈥檚 carnage for possible explosives Sunday as the full extent of its toll came into focus.
Efforts were still underway to recover the bodies of those killed by a soldier whose mass-shooting rampage began near a Korat military base and ended at a shopping mall where he held security forces off with heavy weapons and an uncertain number of hostages. As of 5:45pm Sunday, the death toll rose to 30, including the gunman. At least 57 people were injured.
The bodies of two hostages, a man and woman, were found next to the gunman鈥檚 body. It was not known whether they were killed by the gunman or died during the final shootout with a special forces police unit.
Speaking today, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha said the gunman, who was stationed at a nearby army base, had a 鈥減ersonal鈥 motive for the attack but did not elaborate. Speculation online from his social media posts pointed to a dispute over a land deal with a relative of his first victim, his commanding officer.
Thai soldier whose rampage killed at least 20 in Korat killed inside mall
The youngest victim was 9. Three police officers were killed: Senior Sgt. Majs. Chatchawal Tangtong and Petchrat Kamjatphai, along with Capt. Trakul Ta-arsa, who died during the final assault that killed the gunman at about 9am.
The dead also included a 13-year-old boy, a college student, motorbike taxi driver and security guard.
Sgt. Jakrapanth Thomma brought terror in a language and form that has grown familiar since the New Zealand mosque massacre one year ago. He live streamed his attack and posted regularly on social media. That he seemed to feed off the attention led to criticism of the media covering the event as it unfolded.
Some news outlets were especially targeted for their insensitive handling of witnesses and families of the slain, such as Amarin TV鈥檚 decision to interview a family who鈥檇 just lost someone and Thairath TV鈥檚 rush to link his actions to video games.
Mass shootings have not been common in Thailand, and Prayuth said at Sunday鈥檚 news conference that he wants this to be 鈥渢he last time.鈥
Mental health officials advised the public to minimize news consumption and avoid watching the many violent videos coursing through the digital sphere. Anyone struggling with mental or emotional difficulty was urged to call the Mental Health Department hotline 1323.
Messages of condolence and anguish were streaming across social media, largely under the hashtag # and #. Many criticized Prayuth, who became prime minister last year after seizing power six years ago in a coup, for maintaining his characteristic irascible and brusque demeanor at a time of national grief. His departure from the scene, scowling as he made a 鈥渕iniheart鈥 gesture popularized by Korean pop culture, was widely mocked and sent # to trend atop Thai Twitter.
喔勦笝喔曕覆喔⑧箑喔佮阜喔笟25 喔ㄠ笧 喔箞喔о笝喔權覆喔⑧竵喙喔｀覆喔權副喙夃笝
鈥 Life_Me (@UpDet)
Holy Day
Saturday was a full moon, the third of the lunar year, when the Buddhist holiday of Makha Bucha is celebrated in Southeast Asia. At around 3pm Saturday, the gunman shot and killed his commanding officer, Gen. Anantarot Krasae and Krasae鈥檚 mother-in-law Anong Mitrchan at a private residence near the base. Anantorat and Anong died immediately at the scene. At the home, he also shot a man named Pittaya Kaewprom, who survived his injuries.
At around 4pm, he went onto the base and stole a number of heavy weapons from the armory, shooting security guard Metha Lertsiri to death in the process. He then escaped in a stolen Humvee with the cache of weapons including a machine gun, two rifles and more than 700 rounds of ammunition.
His rampage picked up steam on the streets. He indiscriminately fired at people he passed, killing two police officers and two civilians. At around 5:45pm he fled into the complex of the Terminal 21 Korat shopping mall, the sister mall of one of Bangkok鈥檚 large retail palaces.
The mall was soon a scene of pandemonium. He set a fuel tank ablaze and made a terrifying entrance, opening up fusillades of gunfire and sending people running in terror. He continued to fire on people gathered at the crowded mall on a busy Saturday holiday 鈥 also a Buddhist holiday 鈥 killing several shoppers at the scene, including a motorbike taxi driver and a student.
Facebook took his account offline at about 7pm and the authorities urged members of the public and media not to post live information from outside the mall as he seemed to be anticipating their moves, even shooting multiple police drones surveilling the scene.
Just before 8pm, he was said to have taken upward of 14 hostages. Sporadic gunfire continued throughout the night as special forces secured portions of the mall, freeing trapped civilians. But the hostage situation complicated matters, and officers held off on a final assault until after a group was freed just before 7am.
The legs of personnel from a special unit called 鈥淗anuman鈥 were seen sticking into a hallway before opening fire in a final furious burst of gunfire in a video clip said to be when he was killed.
A candlelight vigil will be held at 7pm this evening at Korat鈥檚 Thao Suranari Monument, a beloved landmark to a historical heroine in the heart of the city.
喔娻覆喔о箓喔勦福喔侧笂喔｀抚喔∴笗喔编抚喔佮副喔權笚喔掂箞喔笝喔膏箑喔覆喔о福喔掂涪喙屶竸喔膏笓喔⑧箞喔侧箓喔∴箑喔炧阜喙堗腑喙勦抚喙夃腑喔侧弗喔编涪喙佮笗喙堗笢喔灌箟喙喔傅喔⑧笂喔掂抚喔脆笗喔堗覆喔佮箑喔笗喔膏竵喔侧福喔佮福喔侧笖喔⑧复喔囙笚喔掂箞喙傕竸喔｀覆喔 RIP 喔椸父喔佮笖喔о竾喔о复喔嵿笉喔侧笓喔權赴喔勦赴
鈥 missfhan (@missfhan3631)
