A Thai soldier stormed a shopping mall, killing at least 20 people and taking dozens of hostages during a live broadcast, including selfies of the mass killing on Facebook.
Major Sergeant Jakrapanth Thomma, 32, started the massacre this afternoon in his barracks, where he shot his commanding officer with two other soldiers, before steeling a Humvee and heading to the mall.
On his way to the shopping center of Terminal 21 in Nakhon Ratchasima, northeast of Bangkok, the shooter opened fire on civilians.
He also targeted several spots, including a Buddhist temple, a house, and an army base before heading to the mall, where he held several hostages.
Hundreds of people were able to escape after police and soldiers stormed the mall but the gunman is thought to be still at large nearby - after a killing spree in which 31 were also injured.
Many people managed to escape after police and soldiers stormed the mall, but it is believed that the gunman is still nearby, after 31 people were injured.
Thai media said that the suspect's mother was taken to the mall in an attempt to persuade him to surrender, playing a video that showed her crying, repeating "Why did he do that?'.
The gunman earlier posted pictures of himself on the Internet, wearing full tactical equipment and carrying a rifle that he took from the army complex's, before shooting a doctor helping an injured person.
“The gunman used a machine gun and shot innocent victims resulting in many injured and dead,” said the police spokesman Pol Col Krissana Pattanacharoen. 
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