Shooting at mall in Thailand's capital Bangkok leaves at least 2 dead, 14-year-old suspect held
Bangkok — Two people were killed and five others wounded in a shooting at a Bangkok shopping mall on Tuesday, Thai emergency services officials said, as police confirmed that a 14-year-old boy had been arrested as the suspected shooter.
"The attacker was arrested. In fact, he surrendered," Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin told reporters earlier, adding that the "situation is easing" as police cleared the scene at the Siam Paragon Mall, one of Thailand's most upscale shopping malls.
Video uploaded to social media and broadcast on television showed a long-haired teenage boy in the custody of police. Recently appointed police chief Torsak Sukvimol confirmed that the suspect is a minor and that he had a record of being treated for mental illness. He said police had not yet learned where the suspect obtained his gun.
Torsak said two people had been killed, a visitor from China and a Myanmar national, and five people hurt. Earlier, Yutthana Sretthanan, director of Bangkok's Erawan Emergency Medical Center, had said three people were killed and six were injured. There was no explanation of the discrepancy, though Yutthana later supported the police numbers.
เวลา 17.06 น. เจ้าหน้าที่ตำรวจสามารถจับกุมคนร้ายได้พร้อมอาวุธปืน ขณะนี้อยู่ระหว่างตรวจสอบผู้เสียชีวิตและผู้บาดเจ็บ #พารากอน #ตำรวจสอบสวนกลาง #CIB
Posted by ตำรวจสอบสวนกลาง on Tuesday, October 3, 2023
The Metropolitan Investigation Bureau of the Royal Thai Police announced the arrest of a 14-year-old boy in connection with the attack later Tuesday on its official Facebook page.
Videos posted on social media showed panicked shoppers running for exits as the sound of apparent gunshots could be heard in the background.
Dozens of police vehicles and a number of ambulances could be seen outside one of the mall's main entrances in the wake of the incident. People were still being escorted from the mall, while bystanders could be seen walking along the gridlocked road outside.
The shooting came just days before Thailand will mark a year since of one of the country's bloodiest days in recent history, when an ex-police officer armed with a knife and gun attacked a nursery, murdering 24 children and 12 adults.
In 2020, a former army officer went on a rampage in a shopping mall in Korat, murdering 29 people and wounding scores more.