A soldier has killed 20 people and injured dozens more in a gun rampage in the Thai city of Nakhon Ratchasima, defence ministry spokesman Kongcheep Tantrawanit told Reuters.
Kongcheep did not give a figure for the number of wounded.
He said it was unclear whether the gunman had taken hostages inside the shopping mall, where he is still thought to be at large.
Police have infiltrated the mall, taking control of the ground floor. Dozens have been evacuated. The Crime Suppression Division of the Thai police urged fleeing people to “raise their hands” and identify themselves on the ground floor “and authorities will evacuate you” amid apparent fears the shooter could try to hide in the panicked crowds.
The warning came as a Thai soldier gunned down at least 17 people an attack which he shared on Facebook, emergency services said Saturday, in an ongoing mass shooting which focused on a town centre mall.
The attack in the northeastern city of Nakhon Ratchasima began late in the afternoon at an army barracks, police told AFP.
Three people were killed – among them at least one soldier – when Sergeant-Major Jakrapanth Thomma opened fire.
“He stole an army vehicle and drove into the town centre,” police Lieutenant-Colonel Mongkol Kuptasiri.
