WEB DESK
The Thai soldier who killed at least 20 people and holed up in a mall overnight was shot dead this morning by commandos, ending a near-17-hour ordeal which left dozens wounded and stunned the country.
It was unclear how many people remained trapped inside the Terminal 21 mall in Nakhon Ratchasima, also known as Korat, where the gunman held out through the night, armed with assault weapons stolen from his barracks.
Volleys of gunfire rang out as the siege ran into dawn, hours after Thai security services stormed the ground floor and freed scores of stunned, terrified shoppers from a bloody rampage that the gunman, a junior army officer identified as Sergeant-Major Jakrapanth Thomma, had relayed via Facebook posts.
A police spokesman said that the commandos from elite Thai police units killed the gunman, after an operation involving hundreds of security personnel.