Yahoo TV

STORY: A 14-year-old has been arrested in Thailand after a deadly shooting at a luxury mall in Bangkok on Tuesday (October 3).

Police said the suspect had been receiving psychiatric treatment but had skipped his prescribed medicine on the day of the incident.

“The suspect is still young. He’s protected by the Child Protection Act. I don’t want the media to ask much about the suspect as he’s still young. Now, we have brought him to the police office. He’s under investigation by a children's officer.”

Gunfire rang out in the late afternoon at the popular Siam Paragon mall, a tourist hotspot that was named the world's most photographed place by Instagram in 2013.

Hundreds of people could be seen fleeing the venue.

EYEWITNESS: "We see all the people run, run, run, we don’t understand why it’s happened, and so we go after them, and after that we hear shots, various shots."

REPORTER ASKING: “Various shots?”

EYEWITNESS: “Various shots.”

REPORTER ASKING: “Like lots of, lots of shots?”

EYEWITNESS: “Yes, yes.”

REPORTER ASKING: “How many?”

EYEWITNESS: “Like six, seven shots.”

Police said that staff at the mall had received training in dealing with active shooters.

The mall said it had evacuated shoppers and staff immediately, stressing safety was of the utmost importance.

Gun violence and gun ownership are not uncommon in Thailand.

A former police officer killed 35 people, including 22 children, at a nursery last year.

In 2020, a soldier shot and killed at least 29 people in a rampage spanning four locations.