Five-mile shooting spree of the Facebook killer
A SOLDIER killed at least 20 people in a shooting spree in Thailand yesterday, streaming the carnage live on Facebook while posing for selfies.
Sergeant Jakraphanth Thomma left a five-mile trail of terror across the city of Korat, littering the streets with dead and wounded, before taking ten people hostage in a shopping mall.
Last night, a squad of elite commandos – who had been scrambled by helicopter from the capital Bangkok 160 miles away – stormed the Terminal 21 centre after the 32-year-old reportedly threatened to set off explosives.
Police confirmed that all the hostages have now been released, although Thomma is still at large on one of the mall’s four floors.
Chilling CCTV footage yesterday showed him strolling through the deserted building, carrying ammunition in a shoulder bag and holding an assault rifle with a handgun on his belt.
The killing spree, during a Buddhist Bank Holiday, began at around 3.30pm local time when Thomma shot his commanding officer, Colonel Anantharot Krasae, 48, and two others.
He then stole a Humvee along with six weapons, grenades and hundreds of rounds of ammunition from the Suratham Phithak military base.
As he drove toward the city centre, he opened fire on civilians along the road, as well as targeting other drivers.
At one point, he shot a gas tank outside the mall, causing an explosion.
Thomma later posted a series of disturbing messages on Facebook , including ‘Death is inevitable for everyone’.