Thais and many people across the world are grieving over the lost of multiple lives as a result of the worst mass shooting in Thailand's history.
At least 30 people were killed and 58 were injured by a Thai soldier, 32-year-old Jakraphanth Thomma, who launched a shooting rampage in a Thai northeastern city, Nakhon Ratchasima (or also known as Korat), on Feb. 8 afternoon.
And the death toll has continued to rise.
Timeline of Korat mass shooting
Here's a summary of what happened:
- Feb. 8, 3pm: The gunman first killed his 48-year-old commanding officer and another 63-year-old woman at Suatham Phithak Military Camp. He then stole weapons and ammunition, and fled with a Humvee-type vehicle.
- The Thai police then issued a wanted poster on their Facebook page to look for the gunman.
- 5:30pm: Footage showed gunman indiscriminately shooting at people in Terminal 21 shopping mall. He also live-streamed the shooting.
- 5:50pm: The police cordoned off 2km around the mall.
- Gunshots were heard and a fire broke out in the mall.
- 9:30pm: Gunman's Facebook account was removed.
- 10:15pm onwards: Hundreds of police and military commandos were mobilised. They besieged the mall and managed to evacuate hundreds of shoppers, including children. However, the gunman had taken some hostages.
- Feb. 9, 9am: Gunman shot dead at the basement of the mall after hours-long overnight standoff with the security forces. Among the casualties included hostages and three policemen, the Thai police revealed. A 13-year-old boy was one of the victims.
Reason behind mass shooting
The motive of the mass shooting is unclear.
It is suspected that the gunman was triggered by a financial dispute.
He was allegedly owed tens of thousands of baht but failed to get it back, which triggered him to kill the first two victims at the military camp.
Before the massacre, at around noon time, the gunman complained about people growing rich by cheating and taking advantage of others, according to CNA.
Thai media reported that the gunman's background was ordinary and he visibly turned bitter recently because of a property deal he had with the commanding officer that he killed, as observed by those he was close to.
However, the brutal killing of innocent civilians afterward was unfathomable.
The gunman's mother was reported to have been wailing and was heard asking, “What happened to you, son?”
Outpouring of tributes
People all over the world were aghast at the gunman's killing spree and the shooting was described as "unprecedented" in Thailand.
Over the weekend, many stayed awake to keep up with the latest development online in Korat as related hashtags were trending on Twitter, such as #karotshooting #savekorat and #savethailand.
Besides the security forces risking their lives in the mall to rescue civilians and to take the gunman down, many people in the city also chipped in to help with blood donation or shuttling the shoppers back home after midnight.
On Feb. 8, many netizens also expressed their respect and gratitude towards those who helped with the situation as well as their condolences to those who lost their lives in this tragedy.
A vigil was also held in Korat where the people mourned and prayed for the victims on Feb. 9 evening.
Top photo collage via @songyost_yo/Twitter, @TwoCityTrails/Twitter, Sally Wang/Facebook