Police: Suspect in Bangkok mall shooting used modified blank-firing handgun
The teenage boy who allegedly shot two people dead and wounded five others inside a major shopping mall in the center of Thailand's capital used a blank-firing handgun that had been modified to fire real bullets, police said Wednesday.
The suspect was arrested less than an hour after the first gunshots Tuesday afternoon at the Siam Paragon mall, one of Bangkok's biggest and most upscale shopping destinations.
Video on social media showed a long-haired teenage boy in the custody of police. Thai media reported the 14-year-old was a student at a Bangkok private school. Police Chief Torsak Sukvimol said he had a record of being treated for mental illness and gave an incoherent account of his actions after his arrest, claiming that voices told him what to do.
Police on Wednesday declined to provide more details about the boy, citing privacy laws and legal procedures covering children aged 15 years or younger accused of committing a crime.
Police Col. Noppadon Tiammetha, head of Bangkok's Pathumwan precinct, told The Associated Press that the suspect has five charges lodged against him: premeditated murder, attempted murder, possession of a firearm without a permit, carrying a firearm in a public place without a permit, and shooting in public without a permit.
He used used “a blank gun, a plastic gun, and adapted it to use real bullets,” Assistant National Police Chief Samran Nualma said at a news conference Wednesday. He added that authorities were looking into regulating such items.
One of those killed was identified as 31-year-old Myanmar migrant worker Moe Myint, who worked in the area at Take Toys Co., Ltd, according to a statement issued by her country's military government.
The other was a Chinese tourist, 34-year-old Jinnan Zhao, according to Noppadon. She was traveling with her two young children.
Five other people were hospitalized: one from China, one from Laos and three Thais. Several are in critical condition.
Zhao's 16-year old niece, who was at the mall with her aunt and her own mother, said the suspect started shooting at the door of the women's bathroom, according to China's digital outlet Shangyou, part of the state-run Chongqing Daily. She had posted on social media a photo of her hand stained red with blood.
The news was trending on Chinese social media
Wednesday, and poses questions about whether the incident will damage the Thai tourism economy.
Thailand is relying on its once-robust tourism industry for a full economic recovery after the coronavirus pandemic. It is especially encouraging visitors from China, who before the pandemic were by far the largest national group. But Chinese social media have lately been filled with warnings about safety in Thailand because of some highprofile crimes and scam operations.