A person with a gun opened fire at a well-known market in Bangkok on Monday, killing five people and sending others running for cover, according to Bangkok’s emergency services department.
The shooting occurred at Or Tor Kor market, which is popular with tourists, in the Chatuchak district in northern Bangkok. The assailant died by suicide, according to the Bangkok Emergency Medical Center.
Four of the people killed were security guards at the market, and the fifth was a woman who was selling goods, the center added.
The Bangkok Post reported that a police investigation was underway. A spokesman for the Thai police was not immediately available for comment.
Thailand has one of the highest gun ownership and gun homicide rates in Southeast Asia, but mass shootings are rare there. The shooting came as Thailand was grappling with a deadly border clash with Cambodia.
Most of Thailand’s high-profile shootings in recent years have involved personal disputes, and many were perpetrated by former army or police officers, who can buy their weapons at a steep discount from the government.
Gun violence is also more common in Thailand’s south, where Muslim insurgents have battled the authorities for decades.
Source: The Newyork Times
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