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What we know about a Thai mass shooting

A Thai soldier is believed to be behind a mass shooting in which least 29 people have been killed, and more than 50 wounded.

Police and bystanders at the scene of a shooting at the Terminal 21 mall, in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.
Police and bystanders at the scene of a shooting at the Terminal 21 mall, in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.
Police and bystanders at the scene of a shooting at the Terminal 21 mall, in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.
AP Photo

At least 29 people were killed and at least 57 wounded Saturday in the city of Nakhon Ratchasima, about 155 miles northeast of Bangkok.

The suspected shooter, a Thai soldier, took people hostage and barricaded himself inside inside a shopping mall with the hostages and an assault rifle, according to local news outlets.

The suspect streamed himself on Facebook Live Saturday evening local time, saying he was “tired, I can barely move my fingers,” according to the Bangkok Post. Shortly before posting the video, the suspected shooter wrote a social media post stating “nobody can avoid death,” and that “being rich from taking advantage of others, do they think they can use money in hell?”

The suspect was shot and killed by police early Sunday.

The shooting comes around a month after another high-profile rampage in a mall in Lopburi in which three people died and four others were wounded. While gun purchases are legal in Thailand, mass shootings are rare, especially in the northern regions of the country, according to the Associated Press.

What we know

  • Saturday afternoon local time at the Suatham Phithak military installation in Nakhon Ratchasima, a Thai soldier shot and killed his commanding officer, Col. Anantharot Krasae, 48.
  • Sunday, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said the shooting was the result of “a personal conflict ... over a house deal.”
  • After killing the colonel, the suspect — identified as 32-year-old Sgt. Maj. Jakrapanth Thomma — is believed to have killed at least two other people at the base: A 63-year-old woman and a second soldier, before seizing weapons, ammunition, and a military vehicle.
  • The suspect then drove to the city’s Terminal 21 shopping complex. He left his vehicle and entered the mall shooting.
  • As of Sunday evening, 29 people were killed. At least 57 people were wounded.
  • Police shot and killed the suspect Sunday morning local time, after evacuating the mall the surrounding area.

What we don’t know:

  • The condition of all of the wounded.
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