Thai PM reveals motive behind action of rogue soldier who killed 20 people

The Prime Minister of Thailand, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has revealed the motive behind the action of the rogue soldier who shot and killed no fewer than 20 people, before he was shot dead by security operatives during a failed raid at a shopping centre in Nakhon Ratchasima.

Chan-ocha who reacted some hours after the attack said that the shooting spree embarked on by the rogue soldier happened out of a grudge over a land deal in which the shooter felt he had been cheated.

The Prime Minister expressed condolences to the families of those killed, a government spokeswoman said.

“We don’t know why he did this. It appears he went mad,” said Ministry of Defence spokesman Kongcheep Tantrawanit.

Reports say the gunman was shot dead by security services on Sunday morning after he holed himself up in a shopping centre following an exchange of heavy gunfire which scared residents in the neighborhood.

The gunman identified as Jakrapanth Thomma, 32, was killed after a failed raid on the Terminal 21 mall in Nakhon Ratchasima which left one member of the security forces dead and two injured, police and military sources told Reuters.

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“The police have killed the perpetrator and rescued eight hostages. Some were wounded,” said one of the security sources who declined to be named because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

The death was confirmed by Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.

“Thank you police and army for ending the situation…Shooter shot dead!!!” Anutin said in a post on Facebook.

According to reports, the mass shooting began at around 3pm (08:00 GMT) on Saturday when the gunman opened fire in a house before moving to an army camp and then to the mall, posting messages on Facebook as he went.

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