Shoppers, at a mall near the Victory Monument in downtown Bangkok, were sent running for cover when a gunman opened fire this afternoon (Tuesday), killing one woman and wounding another. The suspect subsequently fled the scene.
Pol Col Krisana Pattanacharoen, deputy spokesman for the Royal Thai Police, said they have checked CCTV images from the Century Plaza shopping mall and have a description of the suspect.
He said that the shooting stemmed from personal conflict, but police have not ruled out additional motives.
According to witness accounts, the shooting took place at about 3.30pm in a beauty clinic on the 4th floor of the mall, when a lone gunman walked up to the shop and opened fire, killing one female staff member and wounding another, before escaping.
Following the mass shootings in Korat on February 8th and 9th, which left 30 people dead, including the gunman, the national police chief, Pol Gen Chakthip Chaijinda, has ordered local police to increase routine patrols and checkpoints at crowded public places, such as shopping malls, as precautionary measures to guard against violent incidents.
In mid-January, a school director staged a gold-shop robbery at a shopping mall in Lop Buri province, killing three people, including one two-year old child, and wounding four others.
