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
Thai security forces evacuate people who were stranded inside the Terminal 21 shopping mall following a gun battle, to try to stop a soldier on a rampage after a mass shooting, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand on Sunday. The Thai soldier who killed at least 21 people and holed up in a mall overnight was "shot dead" Sunday morning, police said, ending a near-24-hour ordeal which has stunned the country.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
NAKHON RATCHASIMA, Thailand - A Thai soldier who killed at least 26 people before being shot dead in a mall by commandos went on the rampage because of a debt dispute, the kingdom's premier said Sunday, offering the first official speculation for the motive of an "unprecedented" shooting spree.
After a night which seesawed between heavy exchanges of gunfire and terrifying dashes for mall exits by trapped shoppers, sharp-shooters brought an end to the 17-hour-ordeal when they killed the gunman on Sunday morning in Nakhon Ratchasima, also known as Korat.
Twenty-six people including civilians -- the youngest a 13-year-old boy -- and security forces were killed by the rogue soldier, Thailand's prime minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha said.
"It is unprecedented in Thailand, and I want this to be the last time this crisis happens," he said outside a hospital where victims, including at least two undergoing brain surgery, were being treated.
Prayut, a gruff former army chief, blamed a "personal problem" over the sale of the house for the soldier's rampage, which began on Saturday afternoon near an army barracks and was for several hours relayed by the gunman via Facebook posts.
The attacker, a junior army officer identified as Sergeant-Major Jakrapanth Thomma, used a stolen M60 machine gun, rifles and ammunition from one of Thailand's largest barracks as well as a military humvee to carry out the attack.
Prayut said he overpowered security at the barracks' arsenal.
"This was not carelessness. We don't leave the arsenal depot alone -- we had people guarding it."
Most of the dead were killed in and around the mall.
Volleys of gunfire rang out as the siege ran into dawn, hours after Thai security services stormed the ground floor and freed scores of stunned, terrified shoppers from a bloody rampage.
Frightened shoppers sent cascades of messages to friends and family on social media from cupboards, toilets and under tables as the gunman stalked the mall.
Shocked evacuees recounted how an ordinary Saturday at the busy shopping center descended into horror as the gunman entered, sparking an hours-long ordeal.
"It was like a dream... I'm grateful I survived," Sottiyanee Unchalee, 48, told AFP, explaining she hid in the toilet of a gym inside the mall as she heard the gunfire.
A Filipina teacher Aldrin Baliquing said he was ushered into a storeroom by staff as the shooting began.
"We were there for six grueling hours... I'm in shock," she said.
Scores of people made a dash for it as police and soldiers in masks and wielding assault rifles took control of the ground floor following a gun battle and scoured the fleeing crowds for the assailant.
Hours later he was shot dead. Photos showed smiling elite units of soldiers and police emerging from the mall.
Purported video from the scene -- shared on social media -- showed snipers in webbing on elevated walkways, aiming their rifles downwards as heavy gunfire echoed across a concourse below.
STOLEN WEAPONS
The gunman relayed his shooting spree through Facebook posts which charted the attack from an army barracks to the city mall.
Despite the prime minister's speculation, Jakrapanth's exact motive remained unclear as Korat -- a sedate and mid-size town -- tried to digest the scale of the atrocity.
The bloodshed began Saturday afternoon when he shot three people -- among them at least one soldier -- at a senior officer's house and then at the nearby army barracks, before driving a military vehicle to the town center.
There the gunman used the stolen weapons to unleash carnage in the town center.
Throughout the day, he posted images of himself and wrote several posts on his Facebook page as the attack unfolded.
In one Facebook video -- since deleted -- the assailant, wearing an army helmet, filmed from an open-top jeep, saying, "I'm tired... I can't pull my finger anymore" as he made 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."
The city is home to one of the largest barracks in Thailand, a country where the military is enmeshed in politics and society.
The nation also has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the world, and several shootings at courthouses last year renewed concern about gun violence.
Agence France-Presse
MANILA - No Filipinos were hurt after a gunman killed at least 21 people in a Thailand shopping mall on Saturday afternoon, the Philippine Embassy there said Sunday.
The embassy, in a statement, urged Filipinos in Nakhon Ratchasima, a 4-hour drive from Bangkok where the besieged Terminal 21 mall is located, to heed local officials' advise to stay indoors.
"We offer our prayers and solidarity with our Thai brothers and sisters in this time of grief," the embassy said.
According to a report of ABS-CBN News correspondent Goldie Saurin, six Filipinos were evacuated from the mall at around 2 a.m., Sunday.
"Wala na po siyang hawak na hostage. Siya ay naglalakad sa loob ng mall. Lahat ni-lockdown ang rooms at dahan-dahan nailabas ang customers at staff," Saurin told radio DZMM on Sunday morning, describing earlier activities of the gunman and those trapped inside the mall.
("He doesn't have any hostage anymore. He is just walking around inside the mall. All rooms in the mall have been locked down, and customers and staff are slowly being brought out.")
First Secretary and Consul General Val Roque was on his way to the area to check the condition of the Filipinos who were rescued from the mall, according to the Philippine Embassy.
Authorities earlier identified the gunman as a junior army officer named Sergeant-Major Jakrapanth Thomma, who was killed after a nearly 24-hour ordeal.
The city - better known as Korat - is known to be frequented by Filipinos and 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.
--With Agence France-Presse
