Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has conveyed his condolences to family members of the victims of the mass shooting by army man who is now being holed up in a major shopping complex in downtown Nakhon Ratchasima in which many shoppers are reported to be trapped.
Police have confirmed that 17 people have died and another 11 injured.
“I have been continuously updated on the situation in Korat and have ordered all operation units do their best. The top priority in the safety of members of the public and personnel,” he said in his Facebook post at around 9.45 pm.
“I want to convey my condolences to the families of those who died and were injured,” he said.
He also called for cooperation from all sides to resolve the situation.
Members of elite police and army units are now laying siege to Terminal 21 shopping mall where heavily-armed Sgt-Maj Jakrapanth Thomma, an officer attached to the Surathampitak barracks in the province is being holed up.
Jakrapanth allegedly shot dead his commander and a woman, and injured an army private earlier in the evening in a house in Muang district, where a dispute erupted during a meeting over a debt issue.
He later escaped in a stolen Humvee while opening fire indiscriminately on his way to Terminal 21 shopping mall.
