Police are investigating the motive. So far it’s a mass shooting,” Bang Sue deputy police chief told AFP.
He said police were working to identify the dead perpertrator, as well as probing “for any possible link” to the current border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia.
National police chief Kitrat Phanphet said an urgent investigation had been ordered, with officers combing CCTV footage of the attack.
Or Tor Kor Market is a short distance from Chatuchak market which is a major tourist destination in Bangkok and throngs with visitors every weekend.
Mass shootings are not uncommon in Thailand, where firearms can be obtained relatively easily due to lax gun control enforcement.The gunman was found dead on a bench inside the market building, dressed in a black T-shirt and camouflage shorts, with a rucksack beside his body. Police recovered an ID card and a driving licence identifying the deceased as a 61-year-old man from Nakhon Ratchasima. The name on the cards is Noi Praidaen.
Rescue workers confirmed that four market security guards and one woman vendor were shot dead. Two other women sustained injuries.
Footage captured the gunman running back toward eyewitnesses, with the bodies of the security guards lying on a road within the market compound.
The shooting occurred at 12.38pm, according to rescue workers. Police are investigating the incident.
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