Marita Moloney
Live reporter

As it approaches 23:30 in Bangkok and 17:30 here in London, we're going to pause our live coverage of today's shooting.

Two people have been killed and five others have been injured in the incident in the popular Siam Paragon mall in the heart of Thailand's capital. A 14-year-old suspect has been arrested.

As the BBC's South East Asia correspondent Jonathan Head reported from the scene earlier, access to firearms is relatively easy in Thailand, and gun crime is quite common. But such shootings in central Bangkok are rare.

• You can read more on the story here, and we also have a country profile on Thailand here.

Today's page was a team effort between our reporters in London and Thailand, and brought to you by: Emily Atkinson, Thomas Mackintosh, Rachel Russell, James Fitzgerald, Emily McGarvey, and myself, with Thanyarat Doksone, Lulu Luo, and Jonathan Head in Bangkok. Thanks for joining us.

Emily Atkinson
Live reporter

Image source, EPA

Siam Paragon shopping centre is the “epicentre of modern life” in in Bangkok, according to Thailand's tourism authority.

But today the usual bustle of the afternoon crowd turned to panic as gunfire began in the luxury mall.

“I heard loud gun noises, continuously, about 10 times,” said one witness. There were four to five shots, a silence, then two more, says another, who took cover behind an ice cream stand. Others hid inside shops, toilets and restaurants.

By 17:10 local time, a 14-year-old boy had been arrested. Police said he had a record of receiving treatment for a mental health condition, but had recently stopped taking medication.

Authorities initially put the death toll at three - but a later update said two people had been killed. The victims were from China and Myanmar, Thailand's police chief said.

Five more - one Lao national, one Chinese and three Thais - were injured and suffering from wounds “in varying degrees of severity”, according to a foreign ministry spokesperson.

The suspect surrendered to officers and had been using a handgun, police said.

Earlier we reported that the 14-year-old suspect in the shooting was a student at a school not far from the Siam Paragon.

The headteacher of the school - called The Essence - has issued a letter to all parents to confirm that the suspect is a student there.

The letter said "we will give full cooperation to the investigators if there are issues that will benefit their working."

Osob Elmi
BBC News

I just spoke to Palmyra Kownack, 61, a UK resident currently in Bangkok who was at the Siam Paragon when the shooting took place.

She said:

Image source, Getty Images

Bystanders and local residents have described feeling "frightened" by the shooting.

Dunyawat Pranandte, 20, told Reuters news agency: "I’ve never though it was going to happen. I live pretty close to this place. Now I feel relief as the suspect has been arrested.”

Another resident, Phonnipha Srithon, 21, called for "better security checks" in order to prevent shootings.

“This is too depressing for people to handle," Phonnipha adds. "Those who are innocent have had to die from this.”

Thailand's Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has been visiting the hospital where some of the victims from today's shooting are being treated.

In an update shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, he says he spoke to China's ambassador to Thailand after one Chinese national was killed and another was injured in the shooting.

Thavisin adds that the highest measures will be implemented by the Thai government to ensure the safety of all tourists after the shooting at the luxury shopping mall in Bangkok.

Of the five injured in the shooting at Siam Paragon, there is one Lao national, one Chinese national and three Thai nationals, according to a Thai government official.

The injured are suffering from wounds "in varying degrees of severity", says Kanchana Patarachoke, spokesperson for the ministry of foreign affairs.

The 14-year-old suspect was apprehended at around 17:10 local time by the Special Operations Unit of the Bangkok Metropolitan Police, and sent immediately to the Pathumwan police station, she says.

"The ministry expresses its deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives, and wishes a swift and full recovery for those injured by this tragedy," she adds.

Patarachoke says the ministry is coordinating closely with the embassies involved to provide support and assistance to the affected families.

Image source, epa

A man has described kicking a shelf in front of a shop door to obstruct it after hearing gunshots being fired inside the Siam Paragon mall.

Nattanon Dungsunenarn said he was in Boots pharmacy with his girlfriend and several others on the ground floor of the shopping centre when he heard gunshots.

He said he saw "many people running around" and immediately blockaded shut the store’s entrance, where they hid for around three minutes.

Dungsunenarn noticed the store had no other exit, making him worry it could be a "dangerous" place to take shelter.

He then asked a passing security guard if they could leave and eventually made it out to safety.

Some more pictures have come to us from Bangkok after the shooting at the shopping centre in Thailand's capital.

As we have been reporting, two people have been killed and five others were injured in the incident at the luxury Siam Paragon shopping centre.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Shootings like this not usually seen in heart of Bangkokpublished at 15:37 British Summer Time 3 October 2023

15:37 BST 3 October 2023

Jonathan Head
Reporting from Bangkok

This incident started in the late afternoon when this mall, as it pretty much always is, would have been very crowded - it's an extremely popular mall in Bangkok.

People heard multiple gunshots on the lower floors, some of them went for the exits and some were seen screaming out of the exits in panic; others went inside stores barricading themselves in until the police could come.

Siam Paragon is sometimes cited as the most visited spot in Asia - it pops up on people's social media feeds, it's visited by most tourists who come to this city - so it's a very high-profile location.

Gun crimes like this are relatively uncommon in Thailand. There's quite a lot of small-scale gun crime, quite a lot of gun ownership. There have been in recent years quite a lot of large-scale shootings outside Bangkok but nothing like this right at the very heart of the capital.

Image source, Thai Police

Details are still coming through to us, let's just recap what we know about the suspected shooter:

• Thai police say they have arrested a 14-year-old boy after he opened fire inside the busy Siam Paragon mall
• The suspect is reported to be a pupil at a school not far from the mall
• He was arrested on the third floor of the shopping centre
• The teenager has been transferred to Pathumwan police station - which is just over 1km (0.6 miles) away from Siam Paragon
• His motive is unknown, police have said
• The chief of police, Pol Gen Torsak Sukvimol, said the boy had a record of getting treatment for a mental health condition at Rajvithi hospital, but had recently stopped taking his medication

Image source, Getty Images

The UK Foreign Office says it is not aware of any British nationals being involved in the Bangkok shopping centre shooting.

Earlier, a foreigner was reported to be among those injured in the incident at the Siam Paragon shopping complex - a popular destination with locals and tourists.

The Foreign Office says its staff stand ready to support any British national overseas.

People were seen running out of the luxury Bangkok shopping mall in the aftermath of the shooting in Thailand today.

Siam Paragon, one of the most visited places in Asia, was quickly evacuated and had its doors closed.

Image source, EPA

The Bangkok mall where today's shooting happened has expressed its "deepest condolences" following the incident.

"As soon as the incident occurred, the police and Siam Paragon’s security team immediately evacuated customers and employees from the building, prioritising the safety of all customers, employees, and tenants," a statement from the mall says.

The luxury shopping centre also offers its "sincerest gratitude" to the police, volunteers, and its own security team for their "dedicated efforts in bringing the situation under control."

"We also appreciate all the support from everyone during the incident and will continue to provide updates on any further developments," it says.

One man who works at the Siam Paragon shopping centre says he hid behind his ice cream stall when he heard a series of shots fired.

Jakkraphan Nakharisi, 29, tells the BBC he did not realise the loud bangs were gunshots at first.

"There were four to five of them. And then silence. Then there were probably other two shots. Then I heard someone in my shop shout 'there’s some shooting!'"

He says he then saw people flocking down to the ground floor via the escalator, before ducking behind the ice cream tank.

"I didn’t know where to run. I thought I couldn’t just go out recklessly," he adds.

He then noticed the mall's security guards starting to escort people out and walked out no more than 10 minutes after the shooting took place.

Image source, Getty Images

Thai police have been holding a press conference in the last few minutes in Bangkok, and say the two people who were killed in the shooting were Chinese and Burmese.

The force's chief praised the security guards at the Siam Paragon mall for taking control of the situation quickly.

Torsak Sukvimol said the 14-year-old suspect arrested over the shooting showed no signs of resistance when surrendering.

The prime minister has visited the scene, he adds.

Incidents like these are often fast-moving situations and we're working to bring you the latest from the ground in Bangkok.

In our previous post, you'll see we brought you an update from Thailand's emergency services which revised down the death toll from three to one.

Thai police have since shared their own update, stating that two people have been killed and five people are injured.

We'll keep bringing you what we know on the shooting as soon as we have it.

Earlier we reported comments from Yuthana Srettanan, director of the Erawan Emergency Center, who told reporters that three people were killed and four wounded in the shooting.

Srettanan has since revised down the death toll to one person, AFP news agency reports.

He told reporters that six people have been injured, several of whom are in a serious condition.

We'll bring you more information on the incident and updates from officials on the scene as we have it.

Image source, Reuters

The Reuters news agency also has quotes from a police officer who addressed reporters outside the shopping centre to say that "the situation is under control".

He says authorities will provide an update on the number of injuries and deaths "once everything is confirmed".