Thai army chief tearfully apologizes for mass shooting by soldier

BANGKOK - Thailand's army chief apologized on Tuesday for a rogue soldier, whose 19-hour shooting rampage killed 29 people and wounded 57 over the weekend, stunning the country.

At times wiping away tears, Thai Army Chief General Apirat Kongsompong said during a 90-minute press conference that the army will help compensate all the victims and their families.

"I, as army chief, would like to apologize and say how sorry I am for this incident which was caused by a staff of the army," Apirat said.

"In the minute, the second that the perpetrator pulled the trigger and killed, in that minute he is a criminal and no longer a soldier," he said.

The soldier, Sgt. Maj. Jakrapanth Thomma, was shot dead by security forces on Sunday after he had stormed Terminal 21 shopping center in the northeastern city of Nakhon Ratchasima the day before.

The 32-year-old had started the killing early on Saturday, shooting his commanding officer and the commander's mother-in-law over a business dispute.

He then drove to his army base, stole more assault weapons and ammunition and shot his way through a Buddhist temple before going to Terminal 21 shopping center, where he randomly fired at shoppers and held off police for more than 12 hours.

Apirat said the military would investigate the commanding officer who was killed, Col. Anantharot Krasae, 48, and the housing deal apparently brokered by Anantharot's mother-in-law Anong Mitchan, 63.

Apirat said the commanding officer took advantage of the shooter in a land deal where a "promise was broken" over money matters.

He said authorities will find out who else was involved in the scheme and he promised a new line of communication so that army personnel could complain directly to the army chief.

"The army and I have already instructed this," he said, adding his mission before retirement in October was to make things fairer for army staff.

"I don’t think any Thai people would like this incident to happen again, so please don't blame the army or berate soldiers," Apirat said.

"If you want to blame someone, you blame General Apirat Kongsompong. I accept all criticisms and opinions. You can blame me because I am the army chief," he said. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

4 dead, 2 wounded in Los Angeles shooting spree

LOS ANGELES - Four people were shot dead and two were wounded on Thursday in a shooting spree that spread across several Los Angeles neighborhoods and touched off a 12-hour manhunt before police tackled and arrested an armed suspect.

A Los Angeles police spokesperson identified the suspect as Gerry Zaragoza, 26, and said he was held on pending murder charges in the shooting deaths of his father and brother, and the wounding of his mother with a gunshot. The spokesperson did not identify the victims.

The shooting spree started at an apartment the suspect shared with his parents at about 2 a.m. on Thursday in LA's Canoga Park, police said.

Police said the suspect also allegedly shot and killed a woman he knew at a gas station in North Hollywood about 45 minutes later, but did not characterize their relationship.

Some media referred to her as a former girlfriend, others as an acquaintance.

At the same time, he allegedly shot and wounded a gas station clerk. The man was shot five times and was in critical condition, the Los Angeles Times and other media reported.

Later, at about 7:45 a.m., police said Zaragoza allegedly shot a gardener he tried to rob at an ATM. And at about 1 p.m. he allegedly shot and killed a man on a bus in the Van Nuys neighborhood, police said.

Media reports say he did not know the man on the bus and that the shooting appeared to be random.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Zaragoza was arrested in Canoga Park after being tackled by plain clothes officers about 2:30 p.m. Police used a taser to subdue him.

An LAPD spokesperson had no information on any bond set for Zaragoza, but said he remained in police custody early Friday. It was unclear if he had an attorney.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Gunman kills 5, wounds 8 at Ft. Lauderdale airport

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida - A gunman believed to be an Iraq war veteran opened fire at a baggage carousel at Fort Lauderdale's international airport on Friday, killing five people and wounding eight before being taken into custody, officials and witnesses said.

The shooting spree sent panicked travelers running for cover inside the terminal and on the runway apron, with dozens of people corralled into large groups on the tarmac. Aviation authorities shut down air traffic, stranding hundreds of travelers.

The shooter was identified as Esteban Santiago, 26, and was carrying U.S. military identification, according to a spokesman for U.S. Senator Bill Nelson of Florida, who spoke with officials at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

Santiago served from 2007 to 2016 in the Puerto Rico National Guard and Alaska National Guard including a deployment to Iraq from 2010 to 2011, according to the Pentagon.

A private first class and combat engineer, he received half a dozen medals before being transferred to the inactive ready reserve in August last year.

The gunman had arrived on a flight to Fort Lauderdale with a checked gun in his bag, and upon claiming the luggage went to the bathroom to load the gun, Broward County Commissioner Chip LaMarca said on Twitter. He came out firing, LaMarca said, and witnesses told MSNBC television he only stopped upon running out of ammunition, at which point he surrendered to police.

Cellphone video posted on social media showed victims on the floor next to a carousel, with people on their knees attempting to provide aid. At least two victims had pools of blood from apparent head wounds.

Flying with firearms is routine and legal in the United States as long as the guns are kept in a locked, hard-sided container as checked baggage only, under TSA rules. Ammunition is prohibited in carry-on bags but is allowed in checked luggage.

The shooter was unharmed as law enforcement officers never fired a shot, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel told reporters at the airport, adding it was too early to assign a motive.

"At this point, it looks like he acted alone," Israel said while police continued to search the airport.

The shooter, who wore a "Star Wars" T-shirt, said nothing as he fired, witnesses told MSNBC. He appeared to use a 9 mm handgun, which he tossed aside upon firing all his rounds, MSNBC reported.

"This is a senseless act of evil," Florida Governor Rick Scott told reporters.

The attack was the latest in a series of mass shootings that have plagued the United States in recent years, some inspired by militants with an extreme view of Islam, others carried out by loners or the mentally disturbed who have easy access to weapons under U.S. gun laws.

"DIFFERENT PERSON" AFTER IRAQ

Attention was likely to focus on impact of his service in the Iraq war. An aunt said he came back from the war "a different person" after his deployment, MSNBC reported.

About 90 minutes after the attack, panic broke out anew with passengers and police running frantically about at a separate terminal, but Israel said there were no other reports of shots being fired.

John Schlicher, who told MSNBC he saw the attack, described the shooter as a slender man who was "directly firing at us" while passengers waited for their bags.

His wife gave first aid to someone who had been shot in the head, and his mother-in-law used her sweater to tend to another victim but it turned out that person was already dead, he said.

Mark Lea, another eyewitness, told MSNBC, "He didn't say anything; he was quiet the whole time."

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is the second largest in South Florida, serving as an intercontinental gateway, with Miami International Airport known as the primary airport for international flights in the area.

Nearly two months ago a former Southwest Airlines worker killed an employee of the company at Oklahoma City's airport in what police called a premeditated act.

The deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history took place last June, when a gunman apparently inspired by Islamic State killed 49 people and wounded 53 at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

One of the most shocking was in 2012, when a man entered an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, and shot dead 20 first-graders and six adults.

source: news.abs-cbn.com