Tian Macleod Ji/AP
Ambulances wait outside an exit of the Siam Paragon Mall in Bangkok while shoppers rush out.
Three people were killed and six were injured when a shooter opened fire in a major shopping mall in the centre of Thailand’s capital before being apprehended, authorities said.
Police spokesperson Archayon Kraithong told reporters a suspect was taken into custody after the shooting at the Siam Paragon Mall and the situation is now under control.
Yutthana Sretthanan, director of Bangkok’s Emergency Medical Centre said three people were killed and six were hurt.
Hundreds of shoppers fled the mall after hearing gunshots, with some hunkering down inside.
The incident prompted authorities to shut access to the nearby Siam elevated train stop, preventing commuters from exiting the transit station as the evening rush hour began and intense rain pounded the city, according to an Associated Press journalist at the scene.
First responders could be seen entering the mall as sirens wailed outside.
Witnesses said crowds of people left the building, one of several shopping centres in the area popular with tourists and well-heeled Thais alike.
Sakchai Lalit/AP
Visitors evacuate from the mall in Bangkok.
Chinese tourist Liu Shiying told the AP that she saw people running and saying someone had opened fire. She said she heard gunshots and an alarm ringing, and that the lights in the mall went out.
“We’re temporarily hiding. Who dares to go out?” she said while taking cover. She was later able to leave.
Multiple videos uploaded to social media showed people running out of the building. The public broadcaster Thai PBS said several gunshot-like sounds were heard but had no other details.
Mall officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
Gun violence is not uncommon in Thailand, though mass shootings are rare.
The incident happened days before Thais were planning to mark the anniversary of a grisly gun and knife attack at a rural day care centre that killed 36 people, most of them preschoolers, on October 6, 2022.
In 2020, a disgruntled soldier opened fire in and around a mall in the northeastern city of Nakhon Ratchasima, killing 29 people and holding off security forces for some 16 hours before eventually being killed by them.
