Bangkok, Oct 6 (EFE).- The teenage suspect of a Bangkok shopping mall shooting that killed two people this week had previously practiced firing at a shooting range belonging to the military, the Royal Thai Army said on Friday.
The Army said in a statement that the suspect visited the shooting range belonging to the Territorial Defense Command in the historic district of Bangkok, without specifying a date.
Authorities began investigating the possibility after images were shared of the suspect shooting a handgun at a firing range.
The minor is not a member of the compound, so it is suspected that one of the affiliated people invited him in to use the facilities, according to the Army.
However, the 14-year-old has not been found in security camera footage. Videos of more than 10 days old are deleted.
On Tuesday afternoon, the perpetrator is suspected of using a blank-firing handgun, modified to shoot live rounds, inside Siam Paragon mall, one of the largest and busiest in the country.
Before surrendering to the police, the suspect fired more than 40 bullets over about an hour while shoppers fled for the exits or hid inside stores.
Two women, a Chinese tourist and a Myanmar worker, died while five others were injured to varying degrees.
Police have also arrested four people who are being investigated in connection with the alleged sale of the modified weapon.
This latest shooting incident has revived debate on greater gun control in Thailand, where in 2022 and 2020 two other gun massacres took place.
According to data from the Small Arms Survey, Thailand has about 10.34 million weapons, about 15.14 per 100 civilians, the highest ratio in Southeast Asia and one of the highest in Asia.
Additionally, a total of 4.1 million guns are not licensed or legally registered in Thailand. EFE
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