[1/3]A suspected gunman is arrested after shootings at the Siam Paragon luxury shopping mall in Bangkok, Thailand, October 3, 2023. Thai Rescue Workers Association/Handout via Portal acquires license rights
- Siam Paragon is Thailand’s most famous shopping mall
- The incident follows a series of high-profile shootings in Thailand
- Prime Minister concerned about public safety
- Mall says it safely evacuated customers and employees
BANGKOK, Oct 3 (Portal) – Police in Thailand have arrested a 14-year-old suspected gunman after a shooting at a luxury shopping mall in the capital Bangkok on Tuesday in which authorities said three people were killed and four others were injured.
Chaos erupted after reports of gunfire late in the afternoon just before peak shopping time at Siam Paragon mall, one of the city’s most popular shopping and leisure centers and a draw for foreign tourists.
Police said a 14-year-old suspected of being the shooter was arrested and questioned. Emergency services shared an image of a police officer arresting and handcuffing a person lying face down on the ground and another of an officer picking up a handgun from the ground.
Hundreds of people, including children, were earlier seen streaming out of the mall in Bangkok’s commercial center in pouring rain, according to videos on social media confirmed by Portal.
“It happened in just a few minutes. We all saw people running, running, running, we didn’t understand what was happening,” said 26-year-old Shir Yahav from Israel, who was in a designer store at the time of the shooting.
“We were walking with them and then we heard several gunshots, about six or seven shots. We blocked the door of the store.”
Gun violence and gun ownership are not uncommon in Thailand. The incident came a year after a former police officer killed 36 people, including himself and 22 children, in an hours-long gun and knife attack at a kindergarten.
In 2020, a soldier shot dead at least 29 people and wounded 57 in a rampage that spanned four towns around the northeastern city of Nakhon Ratchasima.
The Central Investigation Bureau previously posted on its Facebook page a grainy image of the suspected shooter, who was wearing khaki cargo pants and a baseball cap.
HIGH PROFILE SHOPPING MALL
Siam Paragon is Thailand’s most famous shopping center and attracts many people with its world-class shops, aquarium, cinema and extremely popular food court restaurants.
In 2013, Instagram named it the most photographed place in the world.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin expressed concern over the incident.
“I am aware of the Siam Paragon shooting… I am most concerned about public safety,” he posted on X’s social media.
Scores of people crowded the streets outside and on elevated sidewalks after the incident, which occurred in a busy commercial area that connects to an elevated train network and a number of other shopping centers.
Susinee, a 35-year-old restaurant worker, said she and her colleagues fled their Japanese ramen shop when they heard gunshots.
“We just went out,” she said, standing with a half-dozen of her colleagues.
The mall said it immediately evacuated customers and staff and stressed that safety was of the utmost importance.
“Siam Paragon would like to deeply apologize for the unexpected event,” it said in a statement.
“The authorities were able to bring the situation under control and arrest the perpetrator.”
Additional reporting by Panu Wongcha-um, Devjyot Ghoshal, Pasit Kongkunakornkul, Napat Wesshasartar, Artorn Pookasook, Athit Perawongmetha and Sun Cong; Edited by Kanupriya Kapoor, Martin Petty and Gareth Jones
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