ON Tuesday, October 3, a 14-year-old boy opened fire at the Siam Paragon shopping centre in Bangkok, Thailand, killing two people and injuring five more.
After hearing gunshots in Bangkok’s most renowned luxury mall, hundreds of people were seen rushing out onto the streets, according to a video posted on social media around 4.30pm.
According to Khaosod English, the shooting came to an end at 5:09pm when the shooter surrendered his gun and kneeled before the responding officers.
Additionally, a senior police official claimed that the handgun had been modified because it was built for only fire blanks.
According to the New Straits Times, the shooting’s death toll has been reduced from the initially reported three to two.
As per Torsak Sukvimol, head of the national police, the Burmese woman, who was working in a department store in the mall, died from her injuries later at the hospital, while the Chinese woman, 34, died at the scene.
Three Thai citizens, one Chinese citizen, and one Laotian citizen are among the injured, according to Torsak, and they are all receiving medical attention at the hospital. While, two of them are in serious condition.
Although there is currently no information regarding the attack’s motivation, Torsak claimed that the suspect was undergoing psychiatric treatment and had neglected to take his prescribed medication on the day of the incident.
When the teen was arrested, he was also too disoriented to be questioned.
Torsak told reporters, “We’ve spoken to his parents.”
“The suspect claimed that ‘somebody’ had given him instructions to shoot others.”
The Essence, a private school a few metres from Siam Paragon, reportedly told AFP that the suspect was actually a student there.
The Nation Thailand reported that the 14-year-old was charged with five offences in court yesterday (Oct. 4).
They include premeditated murder, attempted murder, unlawful gun possession, carrying a gun in a public place without authorisation, and firing a gun in a public place.
According to Bangkok Post, the Child Protection Act may also be used by the investigators to file charges against the suspects’ parents.
Their son is now being held at the juvenile detention centre to receive a psychiatric evaluation because neither of them showed up in court to post bail for him.
The suspect was also thought to have had schizophrenia, national police chief Pol Gen Torsak Sukvimo told reporters.
