'No one can escape death': Suspected gunman's Facebook posts as Thai mass shooting unfolded
A Thai gunman who killed more than 20 people in a violent rampage and posted about it on Facebook has been shot dead by police.
Throughout Saturday, he posted images of himself and wrote several posts on his Facebook page as the attack unfolded at the Terminal 21 shopping centre in the city of Nakhon Ratchasima – also known as Korat.
His posts included some saying, "Should I surrender?" and "No one can escape death".
In one Facebook video – since deleted – the alleged assailant, wearing an army helmet, filmed from an open jeep saying, "I'm tired... I can't pull my finger anymore", and making a trigger symbol with his hand.
There were also photos of a man in a ski mask holding up a pistol.
A Facebook spokesperson said "we have removed the gunman’s accounts from our services and will work around the clock to remove any violating content related to this attack as soon as we become aware of it".
Scores of terrified shoppers fled Terminal 21 shopping centre, where the soldier suspected of the killings is believed to still be holed up.
It is unclear how many people remain inside the mall, however armed police had "taken control" of the ground floor of the complex late on Saturday.
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Authorities gave no firm details on the movements of the alleged attacker – a junior army officer identified as Sergeant-Major Jakrapanth Thomma – but radio from emergency services at the scene said the gunman may be in the basement of the multi-level mall.
Automatic weapons rang out just before dawn as ambulances prepared to evacuate the wounded in an attack whose motives remain unclear, seeding fear among the rescuers and media massed near the mall.
At least 10 people were in critical condition in hospital, according to the Thai Health Minister, raising fears the toll will rise.
As shoppers fled late on Saturday, police from the Crime Suppression Division urged evacuees to "raise their hands" and identify themselves on the ground floor amid fears the gunman could hide among the desperate crowds.
Hospitals across the country braced for a grim night ahead as residents flooded the hospitals to give blood and search for relatives.
"There are about 20 dead," defence ministry spokesman Kongcheep Tantravanich said.
"Police, military commandos and sharp shooters are surrounding Terminal 21.”
A volunteer rescue worker recounted a bloody scene of horror after his team carried four corpses to the hospital.
“I've never seen anything like this,” Peerapong Chatadee told AFP.
“I just feel so sad. He is a solider he should not have fired at unarmed people.”
The Thai health minister told reporters around 10 people were already in hospital in a “critical condition”.
The bloodshed began Saturday afternoon when Jakrapanth allegedly shot three people – among them at least one soldier – at a senior officer's house and then at nearby army barracks.
Suspected gunman’s motive remains unclear
"He stole an army vehicle and drove into the town centre," police Lieutenant-Colonel Mongkol Kuptasiri said.
There the suspected gunman used weapons stolen from the military arsenal to bring carnage to a town centre, walking into the Terminal 21 mall.
He "used a machine gun and shot innocent victims resulting in many injured and dead," police spokesman Krissana Pattanacharoen said.
The alleged shooter's motive remains unclear.
A witness who was inside the mall before the attack told AFP the Terminal 21 shopping centre was busy with shoppers on a long weekend.
"There were loads of people at the mall today," a 32-year-old from the city said, requesting anonymity.
"I was pretty shocked when I found out because I just left the mall not long before."
Street lights below the shopping centre were switched off as army and police units sealed off the mall.
The city is home to one of Thailand's largest barracks in a country where the military is enmeshed in politics and society.
Thailand has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the world.
Several shootings at courthouses late last year renewed concern about gun violence in the southeast Asian country.
In another high-profile case, a two-year-old boy was among three people killed when a masked gunman robbed a jewellery shop last month.
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