'At least 16' killed in Thai mall shooting
A soldier has shot several people in north-eastern Thailand, killing at least 16, and is holed up in a shopping mall, an emergency worker said.
Noppadol Sirijanya, a member of the Sawang Metta Tham Rescue Centre in Nakhon Ratchasima, said the death toll had reached 16. Police had earlier said more than 10 people had been killed.
It is unclear how many people were wounded. The authorities put nearby hospitals on alert and asked for blood donations. Public health minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Facebook that a doctor was shot while helping an injured person.
It was not clear whether the gunman had taken hostages inside the mall or how many people might still be inside.
Noppadol said a rescue team had evacuated more than 100 people from the mall, where they had been trapped for hours. The centre is a voluntary emergency aid organisation that helps during accidents and disasters.
The gunman appeared to be armed with an assault rifle, based on security camera video aired on Thai Rath television.
A police officer in the city of Nakhon Ratchasima said the soldier initially shot dead another soldier and a woman and wounded a third person, apparently over a land dispute. Nakhon Ratchasima is also known as Korat.
City and neighbourhood police officers said the man took a gun from his base and drove to the Terminal 21 Korat mall, shooting along the way. Several Thai media reported that he travelled in a military vehicle.
Video taken outside the mall and shared on social media showed people taking cover in a car park as gunshots were fired.
The mall was shut down and the street outside closed while authorities tried to arrest the gunman and rescue shoppers.
Defence Ministry spokesman Lieutenant General Kongcheep Tantrawanich identified the suspect as Sergeant Jakrapanth Thomma. He said police and military units had locked down the mall and the surrounding area.
A video posted on social media from inside a car before all surrounding streets were shut down shows a man driving while a woman shouts: "What's happening? Why are they running?"
Several gunshots are heard as they drive away from the mall, and the woman says: "Is it a robbery?"
A man believed to be the gunman posted updates to his Facebook page during the rampage with statements including "No one can escape death" and "Should I give up?".
In a later post he wrote: "I have stopped already."
His profile picture shows him in a mask and dressed in military-style fatigues and armed with a pistol. The background image is of a handgun and bullets.
In a photo circulated on social media that appeared to be taken from his Facebook page, the suspect can be seen wearing a green camouflaged military helmet while a fireball and black smoke rage behind him. The Facebook page was made inaccessible after the shooting began.
Nakhon Ratchasima is about 150 miles north east of the capital Bangkok. It is a hub for Thailand's relatively poorer and rural north-eastern region.
The size of the mall could pose a challenge for security forces as they try to capture the gunman. It consists of seven main retail floors, including one below ground level, and scores of shops and restaurants. It also houses a cinema on the top floor.
Published: by Radio NewsHub