Thailand recovers from mass shooting

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Buddhist monks pray at the mall where a mass shooting took place in Thailand on Saturday. Associated Press/Photo by Sakchai Lalit

Thai authorities on Monday started releasing bodies to families after a soldier killed 29 people in a shooting rampage. Many of the 58 injured are still in the hospital. On Sunday, close to a thousand people gathered with candles as Buddhist priests led prayers for the dead at the Terminal 21 Korat mall, the site of Saturday’s attack.

What triggered the shooting? Sgt. Maj. Jakrapanth Thomma, 31, was upset over a land deal with his commander’s mother-in-law. He killed both of them before seizing several assault weapons and an army vehicle. He then headed for the shopping mall in Nakhon Ratchasima, where he continued his attack. Authorities later shot and killed him inside the mall. The violence was the deadliest in Thailand since human traffickers killed 20 people in a 2015 bombing at a shrine in Bangkok.

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archives, read Sophia Lee’s report about the spiritual sponginess she witnessed in Thailand.

Onize Ohikere

Onize is WORLD’s Africa reporter and deputy global desk chief. She is a World Journalism Institute graduate and earned a journalism degree from Minnesota State University–Moorhead. Onize resides in Abuja, Nigeria.

@onize_ohiks