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A 14-year-old suspected gunman was arrested after two people were killed and at least five wounded during a shooting spree at a luxury shopping center in the heart of Bangkok. ▲The moment a schoolboy is arrested over a shooting spree that killed at least four people in a shopping mall in BangkokHundreds of people fled the busy downtown mall into torrential rain and chaos after gunshots were heard, while videos shared on social media showed others taking cover in shops, restaurants and bathrooms as the shooter stalked the building.Within an hour, the Metropolitan Investigation Bureau of the Royal Thai Police took a 14-year-old boy wearing a black T-shirt, thick-rimmed glasses and a cap adorned with the American flag into custody.Photos released by the emergency services showed one officer collecting the handgun used, and another pinning down and handcuffing the teenager.Torsak Sukvimol, Thailand’s police chief, said the boy went to school close to the Siam Paragon shopping center. He had previously been receiving treatment for a mental health condition, but had recently stopped taking his medication.His motives remain unclear.Mr Sukvimol added that the two people killed during the attack were Chinese and Burmese nationals. Five other people were injured, and several are in critical condition.Among the 5 injured individuals, 1 is from Laos, 1 is from China, and the other 3 are Thai citizens.The day’s events have shaken the Thai capital. Upmarket Siam Paragon is one of Bangkok’s biggest and most popular shopping centers, drawing tourists and locals alike.
“We didn’t know what was happening, then staff from a shop asked us to go inside and said there was a shooter,” Xiong Ying, a 41-year-old Chinese tourist, told reporters.“Everyone was trying to find a place to hide. So many people were terrified, just like a scene in the zombie movies.”▲The shooter can be seen carrying a gun“Everybody was screaming and running,” Gautam Vora, 45, an Indian national who works in finance in Bangkok, said.“There was a lot of chaos and that was almost like a stampede.”“I don’t think [staff] were well prepared for this,” he added. “I think most of the staff inside the shopping mall were confused and they were running helter-skelter, too.”Following the shooting, authorities temporarily closed the nearby Siam Skytrain station, preventing commuters from leaving the stop during the rush hour.Gun violence is not unusual in Thailand, where there are high rates of firearm ownership, although mass shootings are relatively rare.But the latest killing comes as the country marks one year since one of its deadliest mass attacks. Last October, a former police officer killed 36 people, including 24 young children, in an hour-long rampage at a nursery in northern Thailand that devastated the kingdom.It came after a former army officer went on a rampage in a shopping mall in the city of Nakhon Ratchasima, murdering 29 people and injuring dozens more.
*The opinions expressed in the article are solely those of the author.* Follow Us
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