A 14-year-old boy, Thai nationality, was arrested with a 9mm pistol at 5.09 PM on Tuesday, 3 October 2023 after committing a shooting at Siam Paragon shopping mall in the center of Bangkok, Thailand, killing two foreigners and injuring five people.
According to an official report from National Police Chief Pol Gen Torsak Sukvimol, the two persons who were killed were identified as Chinese and Burmese.
Four of the injured were admitted to King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital and one was being treated at Police General Hospital.
The shooting started around 4.20 PM, sending shoppers fleeing out the mall’s exits and finding places to hide as seen in videos recorded by witnesses.
Further investigation of the shooter’s motives is ongoing. Torsak said that the boy’s behavior after the arrest was still unstable, mentioning possibilities of him having hallucinations and psychological problems. Plus, he added that police have been in contact with the shooter’s parents.
The incident has caused shocking reactions from people all around the world, especially on social media.
Users on several social platforms are firing out controversial questions such as “how did the shooter even have a gun in possession?,” “Is the shooter a game-playing addict?,” “Was he trying to imitate the game’s character?,” and more.
While many shared comments of disbelief on the shooter’s psychological problems, saying “It looks like he (the boy) has been scheming plans and all.”
Recent reports showed that police went on searching the young shooter’s house and found more illegal weapons including an M16 pistol, several boxes of 11mm pistol bullets, and shooting target sheets in his room.
Additionally, Toksak expressed his concerns about the shooter’s personal information and requested the media to avoid publishing it anymore, citing fear of encouraging young adults to perform similar crimes in the future.
