Thai gunman kills five people at Bangkok market before taking own life, police say
The victims included security guards at the Or Tor Kor market in the Chatuchak district in Bangkok, according to a police statement.
The Erawan Medical Center, which coordinates emergency medical services, reported two women were also injured.
The market, next to the sprawling Chatuchak Market, carries all sorts of goods and is popular with Thai and foreign tourists.
A video circulating online reportedly showed the shooter wearing a baseball cap and shorts walking in the market with a backpack strapped to his chest and a handgun in his right hand.
Police said they were probing details about the suspect, including his motivation.
Police General Kitrat Phanphet, chief of the national police force, said he has ordered city police to carry out their investigation quickly and gather all evidence, including closed-circuit video footage.
Gun violence is not unusual in Thailand, which has fairly restrictive laws but also a high level of gun ownership.
The last mass shooting incident in Bangkok was in October 2023, when a teenage boy, using a modified blank pistol, shot more than half a dozen people at the Paragon shopping mall in the city's main shopping district, killing three.
One of the country's worst mass killings occurred in October 2022 in the north-eastern province of Nong Bua Lamphua, when a police sergeant, who had lost his job, used guns and knives to kill 36 people, including two dozen toddlers at a day care centre.
In February 2020, a disgruntled Thai army soldier shot and killed 29 people, most at a shopping mall in the north-eastern city of Nakhon Ratchasima, before he was killed by police after an 18-hour stand-off.
AP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
22 minutes ago
- ABC News
Spit hoods return to the NT as chief minister sprays critics as 'offender apologists'
The Royal Darwin Show usually makes headlines for its prize-winning pumpkins and scones, not setting the political agenda in the Top End of Australia. But when the show became a crime scene on Saturday night, that's exactly what transpired, after a 15-year-old boy was allegedly stabbed by another 15-year-old boy and left in a serious condition. Cue the Northern Territory government's political rhetoric on social media: It would make "no apologies" for toughening up a "broken system" by changing the Youth Justice Act. Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro led the charge by saying she expected the "usual offender apologists to criticise our efforts". "They should look Territorians in the eye and say that kids witnessing senseless violence at a family show is okay," she wrote on social media. The statement laid out the blueprint for the week ahead — you're with us, or you're against us. By the end of the week, the government had rolled out its planned changes, including bringing back spit hoods in youth detention settings and removing the principle of detention as a last resort. Both are measures the royal commission into youth detention in the Northern Territory, sparked by a 2016 Four Corners investigation, explicitly recommended against. On social media and radio text lines, voters commended the government's tough stance. On the other side of the debate, there were condemnations of the changes — from health and justice advocacy groups, not-for-profit organisations and Aboriginal peak bodies — as a "catastrophic step backwards" for young First Nations people. The new chief executive of the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency, Ben Grimes, warned of a flood of youths into detention before the system was properly bolstered to deal with the influx. "It's sort of like saying you're going to increase a school population by a thousand children, but not hiring any more teachers, building any more rooms or providing any more resources," he said. So-called "offender apologists" were offered limited airtime within parliament house. Ms Finocchiaro told a group of NT paediatricians who had written to her expressing "deep concern" over this week's changes that they were wasting their time. "I will do my job, which is to run the NT, and they can do their job, which is to look after sick children," she said. The chief also sledged Opposition Leader Selena Uibo in parliament, saying while her party did not win the election, "she wins the award for being the biggest gutter trash politician in the chamber". And an all-out "personal" attack on NT Coroner Elisabeth Armitage by Prevention of Domestic Violence Minister Robyn Cahill drew the ire of the sector. Eight months after a landmark inquiry into four murdered women, the minister's official response accused the coroner of lacking humility and delivering "uninspiring" recommendations. Alarmed lawyers and advocates returned serve, accusing the minister of "undermining" Judge Armitage's judicial role. Deputy Opposition Leader Chansey Paech also weighed in, saying Territorians expected accountability and action from the Country Liberal Party (CLP) government. "What they're getting from the CLP is blame-shifting, bullying and finger-pointing," he said. "The CLP government has no credible plan to make our communities safer, no strategy to improve the justice system and no willingness to accept responsibility — so instead, they attack the coroner." The NT government won last year's territory election with a massive landslide, and it is continuing to deliver on the tough-on-crime law changes it promised, no matter the concern or criticism. "This Youth Justice Legislation Amendment Bill … is part of our election commitments," Ms Finocchiaro said this week. "It is a part of our plan to continue to reduce crime across the Northern Territory." And, according to Ms Finocchiaro, the changes are something that have won the applause of "tens of thousands of Territorians who agree with us". She may well be right. But ignoring or undermining experts and judicial officials may also come with great risk. Earlier this week, the ABC revealed more than 400 youths had been taken into custody at police watch houses during the first six months of the government's time in power. The laws passed this week will likely see that number climb even higher — but anyone who raises that point is likely to be shot down as an "apologist" by a government hell-bent on pursuing its agenda.
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Before the Falconio trial, Bradley John Murdoch was accused and acquitted of rape and abduction
Before Bradley John Murdoch was arrested for English backpacker Peter Falconio's disappearance and the attempted kidnapping of Joanne Lees, the killer faced charges of raping a woman and her 12-year-old daughter. WARNING: This story contains content that some readers may find upsetting. He was eventually acquitted of all charges relating to the case, but the events of the alleged 20-hour kidnapping ordeal that were relayed in the South Australian District Court have some similarities to the Falconio and Lees case. In 2003, more than two years after Murdoch had killed Mr Falconio at Barrow Creek in the Northern Territory, a court heard the mother and daughter, who were allegedly abducted from their Riverland home, were also bound, gagged and sexually assaulted during the 20-hour ordeal. The mother, who cannot be named, told the court that as the alleged incident came to an end, she did not know if she and her daughter would survive. "After the trailer was packed up, he sat near the trailer staring at us … and I didn't know if he was going to let us go or not," she said in 2003. "Are you going to kill us?" she asked. In the South Australian case, Murdoch was charged with two counts of rape, two counts of abduction, assault and two counts of indecent assault, but he was later acquitted. According to the court transcripts, Murdoch, who died on July 15, had been a regular guest at the Riverland home the mother and daughter shared with the mother's de facto partner, who was away receiving cancer treatment in Adelaide. They had known each other for 18 months. It was alleged that when he stayed, Murdoch used a small guest house at the back of the property as an occasional base for his drug-running operation between the Riverland and Broome, in Western Australia. On his last visit to the property in August 2002, Murdoch, who the court heard was using amphetamines and cannabis daily, put black plastic on the windows of the small flat. The court heard on the pretence of helping him unpack maps, Murdoch asked the 12-year-old daughter to come out to the guest house before he allegedly raped her. "I think he said: 'If you move, I'll give you brain damage'," she told the court. She said Murdoch carried her out to his LandCruiser and chained her up before going inside to the main house to abduct her mother. Prosecutor Liesl Chapman, now District Court Judge Liesl Kudelka, said in her opening statement to the jury that Murdoch told the mother: "Shut up and put some warm clothes on" before he took her outside. "The accused was wearing a gun in his shoulder holster," Ms Chapman said. "She saw the LandCruiser and [her daughter] in the back. "The accused said to [her], 'I need some insurance to get away from this place, get in the back or I'll shoot you'." The prosecution said that Murdoch had spoken about the disappearance of Peter Falconio several times before and during the abduction. "[The mother] asked the accused, 'Why are you doing this?'" Ms Chapman said. "He said words to the effect, 'you were in the wrong place at the wrong time'. "He said that the cops had framed him for the Falconio murder and that's why he was on the run. "He kept saying that he was being framed." Ms Chapman said he told the mother he was going to Western Australia to kill a fellow drug associate and planned to turn the gun on himself. "The Crown case is that his state of mind about being framed for a very high-profile murder explains his extreme criminal behaviour in South Australia," Ms Chapman said. "He was paranoid that he was being set up. "He was using amphetamines, commonly known as speed, which … can increase paranoia. "At that stage he didn't care anymore, he raped a 12-year-old girl and then took her and her mother as insurance in order to get out of there." Bradley John Murdoch's defence team argued in court that the case against him was a "made-up story". The court heard that there was a "conspiracy against" Murdoch created by his enemies, to frame him for the murder of Peter Falconio and that the claims of rape, abduction, assault and sexual assault were part of a "set-up". Just three days before he arrived in the Riverland, Murdoch's brother had given DNA evidence to Northern Territory police and the Falconio investigation team had Bradley Murdoch in its sights. The court heard in the early hours of Thursday, August 22, 2002, Murdoch drove away from the Riverland property with the mother and daughter shackled in the back. "I did what I was told because he had a gun," the mother said in court. "I was so scared I didn't know if he was going to shoot me and [my daughter]. "She [the daughter] was white as a ghost and she was terrified." The mother said they were initially handcuffed, and Murdoch stopped the LandCruiser three times over the next 20 hours, during which he was also alleged to have raped the mother. He also bound them with cable ties, similar to the ones used when Murdoch abducted Joanne Lees. She described him at one point as like "a raging bull". "He was verging on psychotic, like really angry and terrifying," the mother said. Eventually, she demanded Murdoch cut the cable ties off as they were hurting their wrists and cutting her daughter's circulation. The court heard the mother told the accused he was "pathetic for tying up a 12-year-old child". Then the court heard his mood changed, he brought clothes out for the pair and became "more sympathetic". "To me it seemed like he thought that he had done nothing wrong and he was just talking to us normally like he used to when we used to be friends," the mother said. The court heard he eventually dropped the pair at a Port Augusta service station and gave them $1,000 to get home, before allegedly making a final threat to kill them if they went to police. The mother and daughter said even after being released they remained fearful that he was still in the area watching them. They caught a cab to the Royal Adelaide Hospital, where the mother's partner was, but a report wasn't made to police for another five days. Murdoch was arrested by heavily-armed police outside a Port Augusta supermarket, and was remanded in custody to face court in South Australia. Inside the LandCruiser after Murdoch's arrest police alleged they found chains, clothes, cannabis, methamphetamine and $5,000. But, during a two-week trial, the prosecution failed to make its case and Murdoch was acquitted. Seconds later, as he walked out of the court, he was arrested inside Adelaide's Samuel Way building for Peter Falconio's murder and the abduction of Joanne Lees and escorted through a media scrum outside. He was then taken to Darwin where he was found guilty in 2005. Central Queensland University criminologist, Associate Professor Xanthe Mallett, said while there were obviously similarities between the Falconio and Lees case and the Riverland allegations, ultimately the South Australian jury could not be convinced of Murdoch's guilt. "It is a big deal to come forward, it turns your life upside down, it re-traumatises the victim-survivors and so to go through all of that and then for the perpetrator to be found not guilty is heartbreaking," Dr Mallett said. "We are talking 20 years ago, if there was gap between the alleged crime and somebody reporting then that certainly made it harder to prove … and sex crimes are very hard to prove anyway. Dr Mallett said it could be very hard to prove criminal cases beyond what a jury considered reasonable doubt. "Even if, on the balance of all the evidence, they think they probably are [guilty], that doubt is what makes the difference and that can be a very difficult level to achieve," Dr Mallett said. South Australia's Commissioner for Victim's Rights Sarah Quick said sexual assaults remained difficult to successfully prosecute, in part, because victims' evidence was often "fragmented, confused, and non-linear recollections are common". "The cumulative effect of giving evidence, being cross-examined, and then not being believed is deeply distressing," Commissioner Quick said. "Research demonstrates that harmful misconceptions and stereotypes about sexual assault remain widespread."
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
Port Lincoln locals react to shock discovery of human skull in Tamika Chesser case
Port Lincoln locals Katie and her friend were walking up Slipway Rd on Thursday afternoon. Just moments earlier, police had announced they had discovered a human skull in the walking trails and scrubland between Slipway Rd and Hindmarsh Rd on the eastern edge of the popular fishing town. The discovery marked another grisly twist in the Tamika Chesser case, which has sent shockwaves through the small and close-knit Eyre Peninsula community. 'I'm relieved for the family, it's a bit of closure for them,' Katie said. 'But I feel devastated for the person that found it.' Tyson McCallum was also walking in the area when his dog Benji the Beaglier found what police believe is a human head. 'I just went in a bit closer and kind of made the connection pretty quickly as to what I thought it was,' he told 9News. '(It was) pretty surreal to be honest,' he added. 'I was kind of like 'No way, it's not what I think it is, surely not'. But it was too coincidental.' Ms Chesser, a former Beauty and the Geek contestant, is accused of murdering her boyfriend Julian Story at the pair's Port Lincoln unit around midnight on June 17. Police allege she also dismembered Mr Story's body, removing his head. Ms Chesser was then allegedly captured on CCTV in the hours afterwards walking with a bag, dogs and dressed in heavy clothing. She was arrested on June 19 and charged with murder and destroy human remains. South Australian Police and SES volunteers fanned out across the town to search for Mr Story's missing remains in the days and weeks following the alleged murder, but the search was suspended last week. But in a shock development, police announced on Thursday afternoon they believed they had found Mr Story's head. A resident walking their dog found the skull and reported it to the authorities, police said. 'Preliminary investigations and phone calls to forensic science centre (indicate) the remains are most likely human, and I believe they are the remains of Julian Story,' Detective Superintendent Darren Fielke said. 'To confirm this, those remains will be subject to further testing over the coming days. Mr Story's family have been contacted and updated on next steps, the Superintendent said. Katie's friend, who did not wish to be named, said she was no longer worried she would 'stumble across it'. Katie said the discovery would likely reignite interest among locals in the case, which has gripped the town over the past few weeks. 'It's going to go mental,' Katie said. Ms Chesser's case has generated widespread interest because of her glamorous former life and the brutal nature of the alleged killing. Greg, who has lived in Port Lincoln since the 1970s, said locals discussed the case regularly. 'It was a gruesome bloody incident,' he said, speaking before Thursday's discovery. 'This town, we've never had anything like that before.' Harley Hozer, who lives across the road from the unit complex where Ms Chesser and Mr Story lived, said the allegations had 'shook the town'. 'It shook the town a little bit,' she told NewsWire. 'We've dealt with some crime before but nothing like this. 'It shocked me, that's for sure.' Police cars and cops patrolled the entry points to the scrubland across Thursday, with police line closing off the area. Detectives could be seen walking into the trails. That same day, Ms Chesser appeared at Port Lincoln Magistrates Court at 9.30am on three separate matters. Police allege she behaved in a disorderly manner at a tobacco store on Port Lincoln's Liverpool St and at the Port Lincoln Police station, both on February 14, 2025, It is further alleged she assaulted a woman on November 1 last year. It is listed as a summary offence, meaning it is considered a low level of offending. She is also alleged to have assaulted a police officer on June 20 this year, one day after she was arrested for the alleged killing of Mr Story. The 34-year-old woman appeared via AVL from James Nash House, a psychiatric facility, where she greeted the magistrate and answered questions for the first time in court. She sported a shaved head and wore a blue sweater and greeted Magistrate Patrick Hill with a 'hello'. Justin Slater, a solicitor with the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement, represented her in court. He told Mr Hill he had ordered 'reports' into the charges. 'We are doing our own reports in relation to these matters,' he said. He asked Mr Hill to adjourn matters until a charge determination had been made for Ms Chesser's more serious allegations and Mr Hill agreed to the request, setting December 18 at Port Lincoln for the next hearing. When asked if she understood her hearing would be adjourned, Ms Chesser replied: 'Yep'. Mr Slater declined to comment on the charges or Ms Chesser's condition after the hearing. Thursday's hearing marked the second time Ms Chesser had fronted court following her first appearance at Adelaide Magistrates Court last month on the murder and destroy human remains charges. Those matters are listed to be heard in Adelaide on December 12. Mr Story was a Port Lincoln local, while Ms Chesser had only recently moved to the area from Queensland. She starred in the second series of the hit reality TV show Beauty and the Geek in 2010, finishing in second place. She has also worked as a model for a range of brands including Target and appeared in men's magazines including Ralph and FHM, a profile for her on Star Now states. Her Instagram and Facebook social media profiles are filled with racy and glamorous images. A funeral service for Mr Story is expected next week.
