‘He went mad’: Gunman who killed 30 in Thai shopping mall rampage identified as junior army officer

Thai police have identified a shooter who killed at least 30 people, injured 58 others and held hostages at a shopping mall in Thailand as junior army officer Jakraphanth Thomma.

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"We don't know why he did this. It appears he went mad," Defence Ministry spokesman Kongcheep Tantrawanit said as police confirmed that Thomma killed his commanding officer before stealing weapons from a military base and going on the shooting rampage. 

In a now deleted tweet, Thai police posted a wanted poster for Thomma, warning people stuck inside the mall to hide in a safe place and to mute their mobile phones.

Shortly before midnight, police said that they had secured the mall. The authorities reportedly brought in his mother to help negotiate surrender.

Earlier, footage apparently from mall security cameras showed a man brandishing an assault rifle and walking calmly through an empty area of the building.

Thomma took selfies as he began his attack and live-streamed the rampage on his Facebook page, but the page was quickly shut down. Videos posted on social media showed panicked people running from the mall, while others showed men carrying injured people to safety.

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