DEVELOPING STORY: Three dead in Bangkok mall shooting, attacker arrested
TOPSHOT – An ambulance is seen outside Siam Paragon shopping centre in Bangkok on October 3, 2023, following a shooting incident in the mall. Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said there had been a shooting on Oct 3 at the shopping mall in downtown Bangkok, with hundreds of people seen fleeing the scene. (Photo by Jack TAYLOR / AFP)TOPSHOT – People leave Siam Paragon shopping centre in Bangkok on October 3, 2023, following a shooting incident in the mall. Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said there had been a shooting on Oct 3 at the shopping mall in downtown Bangkok, with hundreds of people seen fleeing the scene. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)
BANGKOK, Oct 3, 2023 (AFP) – Three people were killed and four wounded in a shooting at a major Bangkok shopping mall on Tuesday, with the shooter arrested by police.
Multiple videos circulating on social media showed people running from the Siam Paragon mall, one of the Thai capital’s top shopping destinations, which is hugely popular with tourists and locals alike.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin told reporters the attacker had been apprehended and the situation brought under control.
“Police are clearing the scene. The situation is easing,” Srettha told reporters.
TOPSHOT – Onlookers use their mobile phones as they look at Siam Paragon shopping centre in Bangkok on October 3, 2023, following a shooting incident in the mall. Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said there had been a shooting on Oct 3 at the shopping mall in downtown Bangkok, with hundreds of people seen fleeing the scene. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)An ambulance is seen outside Siam Paragon shopping centre in Bangkok on October 3, 2023, following a shooting incident in the mall. Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said there had been a shooting on Oct 3 at the shopping mall in downtown Bangkok, with hundreds of people seen fleeing the scene. (Photo by Jack TAYLOR / AFP)
Yuthana Srettanan, director of the Erawan Emergency Center, said three people were killed and four wounded in the incident, in a message sent to reporters.
Dozens of police vehicles and a number of ambulances could be seen outside one of the shopping centre’s main entrances in the wake of the incident.
People were still being escorted from the mall, while bystanders could be seen walking past along the gridlocked road outside.
Thai police officers secure Siam Paragon shopping centre in Bangkok on October 3, 2023, following a shooting incident in the mall. Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said there had been a shooting on Oct 3 at the shopping mall in downtown Bangkok, with hundreds of people seen fleeing the scene. (Photo by Jack TAYLOR / AFP)TOPSHOT – Emergency workers and police direct people leaving Siam Paragon shopping centre in Bangkok on October 3, 2023, following a shooting incident in the mall. Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said there had been a shooting on Oct 3 at the shopping mall in downtown Bangkok, with hundreds of people seen fleeing the scene. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)A police vehicle (R) is parked near traffic outside Siam Paragon mall after a shooting incident in downtown Bangkok on October 3, 2023. Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said there had been a shooting on Oct 3 at the shopping mall in downtown Bangkok, with hundreds of people seen fleeing the scene. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)People stand outside Siam Paragon shopping centre in Bangkok on October 3, 2023, following a shooting incident in the mall. Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said there had been a shooting on Oct 3 at the shopping mall in downtown Bangkok, with hundreds of people seen fleeing the scene. (Photo by Jack TAYLOR / AFP)
The shooting comes just days before the one-year anniversary of one of the bloodiest days in recent Thai 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.