Three dead in shopping mall shooting 14-year-old arrested

[Tiggs]

Three dead in shopping mall shooting
14-year-old arrested less than an hour after rampage inside Siam Paragon.

Police have arrested a 14-year-old boy who went on a shooting rampage inside Siam Paragon shopping mall, killing three people and injuring four others on Tuesday afternoon.

The incident that took place around 4.20pm sent hundreds of people fleeing from the mall in Pathum Wan district on Rama I Road in central Bangkok. Witnesses said that more than 10 rounds of gunshots were heard.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2656821/three-dead-in-shopping-mall-shooting

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=758NQvDsVRg" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=758NQvDsVRg</a>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=758NQvDsVRg

[Tiggs]

Gunshots

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4d-LnwuSp0U" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4d-LnwuSp0U</a>

[Coolkorat]

What's the point of the security people and metal detectors at the entrances to most malls? Completely pointless if a teenager with a gun can get in.

[Tiggs]

Hello coolsie, nice of you to take the time out in a reply,

earlier reports had put the death toll at three
The police chief confirmed two people were killed in the incident — earlier reports had put the death toll at three. The first was a 34-year-old Chinese woman who died on the ground floor of the shopping centre. The other was a woman from Myanmar who succumbed to her injuries at Police General Hospital. Bangkokpost

TAT considers actions needed to restore tourist confidence in Thailand
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is working on a plan to restore foreign tourist confidence in Thailand, after assessing the impacts of the Siam Paragon shopping mall shooting on the Thai tourism sector.

TAT Governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool said today (Wednesday) that it may take about a week to get a clearer picture of how many foreign tourists cancel or postpone their planned visits to Thailand following the shooting.

https://www.thaipbsworld.com/tat-considers-actions-needed-to-restore-tourist-confidence-in-thailand/

[caller]

What's the point of the security people and metal detectors at the entrances to most malls? Completely pointless if a teenager with a gun can get in.

That is something that is being treated with serious concern by the company.  It shouldn't have happened. These high end malls tend not to have obvious uniformed security staff at the entrance, just one or two suited and booted wallah's. Clearly security will tighten.

As for the security staff, they have received a lot of praise how things were handled after he started shooting. Evacuating the premises, locking down the Mall etc. They actually undertake regular training for exactly this scenario.  One lady on TikTok, said how security turned up where she worked, locked the doors, turned off all the lights and led the staff out via a rear access.

[Coolkorat]

What's more concerning is that a teenager could get their hands on a gun! Perhaps time for an outright ban on guns like the UK (although with knife crime as it is in the UK, it might be transferring a problem rather than solving it).

[Tiggs]

gun laws yes but won't stop a  soldier like shot and killed least 29 people in Nakhon Ratchasima. term.21.
Last October, a former policeman killed 35 people, including 22 children (most of whom were stabbed), at a nursery in Nong Bua Lam Phu in northeastern Thailand.  The age range of children at the daycare centre was from two to five years.

Both these guys carry guns legaly. 

[Tiggs]

So easy to point fingers, I wonder how long it would take to get people into the malls if actual security search was in full.

BUT this report say's. the police head quarters is 500 meters and took them about an hour and a half or two hours to get here" was apparently a statement by a bystander.

RTP officials clarified that their headquarters was not equipped with the necessary special operations team required for such emergencies. “I think the response was very slow. You see those ambulances behind us, they probably just got here. It took them about an hour and a half or two hours to get here. So, I don’t think it was that fast, I don’t think they were well prepared for this at all.”

Have a read https://thethaiger.com/news/national/foreign-survivor-criticises-slow-response-of-thai-police-in-siam-paragon-shooting-video

[Tiggs]

So changing the gun laws hmm. How was this allowed for 5 months

3 arrested for selling blank gun, ammo to teen shooter
A guy was running a Facebook page to sell firearms online. The page had been opened for about five months before being shut down around 10.20 pm on the day of the shooting rampage.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2658098/3-arrested-for-selling-blank-gun-ammunition-to-teen-shooter

[Coolkorat]

I agree with you Tiggs - bans tend to drive the problem underground. At the root of this seems to be an ongoing mental health crisis: in the cases you mention, mental health would seem to be cause. Is there a way to identify those who are at risk/pose a risk? I can't see an easy fix.

[Tiggs]

Hi CK, yes something must strike these happenings off, as for mental health would seem to be cause. drugs in other cases.
This guy killed 5 of his own children you have to be sick to do that although in this case the Psychiatrist says

man who killed 5 children not mentally ill
Metropolitan Police, said the suspect has confessed to beating his two-year-old daughter, Nong Model, to death because her crying annoyed him. Her body was buried under concrete at her mother’s parental home.Moreover four other children he had with his former wife have also all died.
https://thainewsroom.com/2023/09/21/psychiatrist-says-man-who-killed-5-children-not-mentally-ill/

[Coolkorat]

Mental health is definitely an area where early intervention is necessary - sadly the resource to properly assess and treat children just doesn't exist in anything but the most extreme cases. It's getting better in the UK: schools take it more seriously now, and actually talk about it.

[Tiggs]

We talk about mental health this story from the Bangkokpost is enough to leave the mind scarred for life.

The attack at Siam Paragon mall has left deep scars on survivors,

One survivor of the Siam Paragon shopping mall shooting attack recalled the moment when she faced the 14-year-old shooter while running up an escalator.

She thought she was fleeing to a safe place. Instead, she saw the boy standing on the other end of the escalator. He turned toward her and promptly fired his gun.

Anyapat Thipjirasakul recalled: "When I saw him, I quickly turned back and ran down the escalator as fast as I could. I heard about four shots. One bullet hit me. I felt pain in my left shoulder but I could not stop.

"I jumped down the escalator. I fell but had to keep running, as I was afraid he would follow me down." She ran toward the entrance gate among the crowd, some of whom were screaming and crying.

"It was horrific. I barely slept during my first night. Whenever I close my eyes, I see him and hear the sound of the gun," she said from a hospital.

Full story link above

[jungle]

Can't imagine what it was like in there but your post gives some idea Tiggs
I still can't comprehend what goes on in the mind of those that want to kill and maime people they don't even know
Even sadder that mental decline to that point goes unnoticed with in a family

[Tiggs]

Thailand to launch emergency alert system following Siam Paragon shooting incident
The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DES) and the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) of Thailand have initiated a collaborative project to implement an effective emergency alert system. The move comes in the wake of a shooting incident at the Siam Paragon Mall on October 3.

DES Minister Prasert Jantararuangthong relayed that Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin is keen on a public alert system being developed for specific areas to ensure the safety of the public. The ministry has been tasked to expedite the development of such a system and liaise with the concerned parties.

On the day of the shooting, Siam Paragon sent an SMS alert to its tenants. However, there was no government body in place to disseminate the information to the wider public in the area.

To address this, a location-based SMS system is being planned to launch within a month and can send alerts nationwide.

The DES minister further explained that in the medium term, a more efficient cell broadcast system would be introduced.

This system would be able to transmit a message instantly to all mobile phones or communication devices within a designated area.

SMS alert system

The ministry’s data reveals that a location-based SMS alert system would take approximately 15-20 minutes to identify which mobile phone SIM cards are in a particular area, followed by an additional 1-20 minutes to send messages to the targeted individuals, reported Bangkok Post. On the other hand, a cell broadcast system can send messages directly via radio cells, eliminating the need for mobile phone users to download an application.

The cell broadcast system is projected to be ready for deployment within six months to a year. The DES ministry and the NBTC will finalize the technical details of this system and then encourage mobile phone operators to adopt it.

NBTC Chairman, Dr Sarana Boonbaichaiyapruck, stated that the operational process necessitates the establishment of a command centre which will instruct telecom operators to transmit alert messages via the designated method.

The NBTC is set to issue relevant regulations to facilitate these operations. The telecom regulator has also urged operators to install the necessary equipment and software to enable the cell broadcast system at the earliest.

Pratthana Leelapanang, Chief Consumer Business Officer at Advanced Info Service (AIS), affirmed the company’s commitment to ensuring a secure network for tourists in Thailand.

Pratthana stated that the company would work with the government to provide emergency warnings through mobile networks. This initiative aims to bolster the confidence of tourists in the safety and security of travel in Thailand, reported Bangkok Post.
source

[Roger]

CK re. your post on this thread - Oct 6th - "Mental health is definitely an area where early intervention is necessary".

Hard to disagree with that but, particularly after Covid dramas, 'mental health' is becoming a new banner to feed the appetite of the 'woke'. Somehow more of us just have to get on with doing our best - easy for me you might say, or not. As a young man, I worked as a volunteer with handicapped kids, 2 shifts at weekends for a year or two at St Blazey Children's Hospital, so I've seen the far end of the spectrum.

I'm sure 'mental health' care is patchy in the UK to say the least, but as it happens, this facility came to my notice recently - exemplary IMHO. I wonder if facilities like this can survive current financial strictures? I hope so . . . . .

https://youtu.be/lzzT8n_fbqw

[Tiggs]

Eyewitness videos of Bangkok mall shooting show heroic actions of staff
Shoppers who were trapped inside a luxury Bangkok mall when a 14-year-old boy launched a shooting spree on Tuesday have praised staff for saving their lives.

Many of those who escaped have praised the mall’s workers for their quick actions to keep customers safe. One shopper posted a video in the shooting’s aftermath and praised quick-thinking Zara employees for saving her life. Another X user thanked a McDonald’s employee for helping her and her brother during the rampage.

“I applaud the employees! We were standing in line to buy ice cream as the staffer was recommending the One Siam app. Suddenly, we heard gunshots, and the staffer quickly grabbed my and my brother’s arms and ran out of McDonald’s on the basement floor. I was still in shock and standing there, and the staff were incredibly attentive. Thank you so much.”

Many X users posted videos showing security staff holding doors and calling out to customers to run towards them, despite the gunman being very close by. The videos have gone viral, with netizens hailed the mall staff for showing bravery and quick-thinking that they said had undoubtedly saved lives.

The posts praised staff for their swift actions in activating emergency protocols, assisting and guiding customers to safety, and providing a sense of security during the terrifying event.
source

[Tiggs]

Siam Paragon shooting claims third victim, music fan loses fight for life
The tragic shooting at the Siam Paragon shopping mall, where a 14 year old boy opened fire on the public, claimed its third victim. Penpivan, a 14 year old girl and a devoted fan of famous singers Nont Thanont and GOT7, succumbed to her injuries after a ten-day battle. During the shocking event, she sustained critical gunshot wounds to her brain and ribs.

 She was a passionate fan of well-known singers Nont Thanont and GOT7 and was unfortunately hit in the brain by two bullets and her ribs by another two, leaving her in a coma.

Nont Thanont reposted a fan’s message on October 3, seeking information about missing people from the mall shooting incident. It was later discovered that Penpivan had been shot in the head and was in the hospital.

As of today, the news of Penpivan’s demise was confirmed by a representative of her mother. According to the report, Penpivan, also known as Nungning, peacefully passed away in the early hours of the day. Her death marked the third fatality from the violent incident at the Siam Paragon shopping mall reported KhaoSod.

Survivors of the Siam Paragon Mall shooting recounted their harrowing experiences. One survivor, Natthaphat (surname withheld), described the terrifying moments she witnessed, including people losing their lives right before her eyes, and her inability to help a Chinese woman in distress. Read more HERE.

source

[Coolkorat]

The alert system is a good idea: it's already in place in various places (even here on the Isle of Man).

[Tiggs]

Anutin’s tough new policy will not allow public to own even BB guns
Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul announced a strong gun policy on Thursday, saying that only officials would be authorised to possess firearms, and the public would not be allowed to own them – not even imitation weapons like BB guns.

The deputy premier on Thursday presided over a meeting to review the laws governing gun ownership in Thailand, following the deadly shooting in Bangkok on Tuesday that took the lives of two foreigners and left five others injured.

Several senior officials, including the director-general of the Department of Provincial Administration Attasit Samphanrat, attended the meeting.

Anutin, who is also the Interior Minister, said that he had decided to entrust Attasit with looking into the rules on the use of firearms and other weapons and reporting back to him to determine which ones needed to be revised.

He said he would not allow ordinary people to get a permit to own a firearm, not even imitation ones like BB guns or blank guns, as they were dangerous and needed to be regulated,

“Only officials would be permitted [to possess firearms],” he said.

Full article nationthailand