Thai police on Tuesday (Oct 3) said they have arrested a 14-year-old suspected gunman after a shooting at a luxury mall in the capital Bangkok.

Two people were killed, and five others injured in the shooting spree at Siam Paragon shopping mall.

A Chinese national and Myanmar citizen were dead in the attack inside the mall, a popular spot among the foreign tourists, Thailand’s Police Chief Torsak Sukvimol told a briefing.

Local media, including Thai-language Thairath newspaper, had earlier reported the death toll as three. Emergency services also earlier said three people were killed and four others hurt.

The Siam Paragon shopping mall, owned by Siam Piwat, was evacuated after the shooting incident with the entry to the nearest Skytrain station sealed, The Standard reported, citing a police official. The injured were being treated in two different hospitals in the city, Thairath newspaper reported.

The attack comes as Thailand is anticipating a surge in foreign tourist arrivals under a visa-free programme announced for visitors from China and Kazakhstan.

GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY

Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign UpVIEW ALL

The South-east Asian nation, popular for its beaches, Buddhist temples and national parks, is forecast to receive up to 30 million holidaymakers this year, more than double the tally in 2022.

“The shooting will hurt confidence of tourists and sentiment,” said Burin Adulwattana, chief economist at Bangkok-based Kasikorn Research Centre. It also “increases downside risk to Thailand’s fragile economic recovery. The government will need to try its best to restore confidence.”

While mass shootings are not very common in Thailand, a former cop used an automatic weapon to fire at a daycare centre in northeastern Thailand last year, killing 36 people, mostly preschoolers.

Since then, the government has ordered a crackdown on unlicensed gun owners and compulsory registration of all firearms.

Thailand has a so-called welfare gun programme that allows police and local officials to buy weapons for personal use at steep discounts. The country has about 10.3 million firearms, or a civilian gun ownership of 15.1 per 100 persons, the second-highest in Asia after Pakistan, according to the Thailand Development Research Institute. REUTERS, BLOOMBERG