Thai police arrest 14-yr-old suspected gunman after 3 killed at Bangkok mall

[October 03, 2023]  BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai police on Tuesday said they had arrested a 14-year-old suspected gunman after a shooting at a luxury mall in the capital Bangkok that emergency services said had killed three people and injured four others.  

The Metropolitan Police Detective Department said on its Facebook page that a 14-year-old suspected gunman had been arrested and was being questioned over the incident at the Siam Paragon mall.

Emergency services shared an image of a police officer apprehending and handcuffing an individual laying face down on the floor.  

A police officer collects a gun following shots fired at the luxury Siam Paragon shopping mall, in Bangkok, Thailand, October 3, 2023. Thai rescue workers association/Handout via REUTERS

The Central Investigation Bureau had earlier posted a grainy image on its Facebook page of an individual they said was the gunman, dressed in khaki cargo pants and a baseball cap.

Unverified videos on social media showed scenes of chaos, with people, including children, running out of the doors of the mall while security guards ushered them out.

One of the videos showed people taking cover in a darkened room inside a restaurant, while live television showed long queues of traffic outside the mall in torrential rain.

Gun violence is not uncommon in Thailand. An ex-police officer killed 22 children in a nursery last year during a gun-and-knife attack, while in 2020 a soldier shot and killed at least 29 people and wounded 57 in a rampage that spanned four locations in and around the northeastern Thai city of Nakhon Ratchasima.

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin expressed concern over the incident.

"I am aware of the shooting event at Siam Paragon and have ordered the police to investigate. I am most worried about public safety," he posted on X social media.

(Reporting by Bangkok bureau; Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor, Martin Petty)

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