Bangkok — Three people were killed and four others wounded in a shooting at a Bangkok shopping mall on Tuesday, Thai emergency services officials said, as police confirmed that the shooter had been arrested.
Yuthana Srettanan, director of Erawan Emergency Center, confirmed the toll in a message to reporters in the Thai capital Tuesday.
“The attacker was arrested. In fact, he surrendered,” Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin told reporters earlier, adding that the “situation is easing” as police cleared the scene at the Siam Paragon Mall.
A photo posted on Facebook by the Thai Criminal Investigation Bureau showed an officer pinning a man to the floor who was identified as the suspect.
Videos posted on social media showed panicked shoppers running for exits as the sound of apparent gunshots could be heard in the background.
Dozens of police vehicles and a number of ambulances could be seen outside one of the mall’s main entrances in the wake of the incident. People were still being escorted from the mall, while bystanders could be seen walking along the gridlocked road outside.
The shooting came just days before Thailand will mark a year since of one of the country’s bloodiest days in recent history, when an ex-police officer armed with a knife and gun attacked a nursery, murdering 24 children and 12 adults.
In 2020, a former army officer went on a rampage in a shopping mall in Korat, murdering 29 people and wounding scores more.
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