9am 9/2, Sergeant Jakrapanth's body is located next to the cold storage in the mall, 18 hours after he fired the first shot.

Nakhon Ratchasima, a city of 166,000 people between the central plains and the underdeveloped region of northeastern Thailand, should have been a place where people got along well. Located on the Friendship Highway built by the US in the early 1950s, this city is a strategic center for the Thai army because there are many bases in the region and agriculture, with processing plants. Turn rice, sugar cane, sesame and fruit.

Thai officials initially thought the gunman, Sergeant Jakkrapanth Thomma, simply went crazy. Later, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said February 9 he was angry over a land dispute.

On February 8, he met Anong Mitrchan, 65, who specializes in real estate brokerage for military officers, at her house to discuss the payment from an agreement. It is unclear if she is the target of venting out Jakkrapanth's rage or whether she has done anything wrong. But she and he were involved in a protracted dispute.

Anong is not alone. The son-in-law and superior of Jakkrapanth, Colonel Anantharot Krasae, is also at home with her business partner. Jakkrapanth shoots all three. Only the partner survived but was seriously injured.

He posted the bullets on Facebook. "No one can escape death," he wrote. "Get rich by cheating and taking advantage of others. Can they then bring money to hell?".

Jakkrapanth fled to a military base, shot and killed the third victim before stealing a Humvee and many weapons. Driving the car and shooting at the same time, he arrived at the parking lot of Terminal 21 mall around 3pm, when the police received the first call to report the shooting at Mrs. Anong's house.

Before entering the mall, Jakrapanth fired several compressed air tanks, causing an explosion and a big fire outside the door. He broadcast live on social networks Facebook shootings, selfie with a rifle and a shotgun with amulets wrapped around the barrel, claiming that he was "taking revenge".

Terminal 21, which is famous for decorating each floor according to a place in the world, from the Caribbean, London, Paris to Hollywood, is bustling on Saturday afternoon. , teens flock to mobile phone stores, clothing, and food courts.

They heard gunshots. Everyone panicked bent to avoid bullets. Many were killed outside shopping malls, some were walking, others were sitting in cars.

People are not sure what is going on. Cleaning worker Kul Kaemthong, 53, said she was resting at around 17:00 after hearing that someone had been shot. Looking out from the food court window on the fourth floor, she saw one body next to the motorbike, another body next to the car.

She started to run. Then she heard more gunfire. One, two, three, then dozens of gunshots rang out. Major General Jirapob Puridet, the commander of the raid security team, said Jakkrapanth had two pistols, a machine gun and about 800 bullets.

The gunman had "aimed at the head," one survivor said. "He shoots everywhere, the shots are very accurate," the man named "Diaw" said.

Viparat, 39, and her husband, Somwang Kwangchaithale, 39, were sitting in a movie theater on the fifth floor of the mall when the lights came on and an emergency announcement came through the speaker around 17:30. At first they stayed in the theater. The mall staff then took them to an office and locked the door. 100 people fled here until they received word from officials that they were about to evacuate.

"They asked us to turn off the lights," Somwang said. "Go light and don't make a loud noise".

But when they reached the basement, the gunman heard them, he started firing. "All the people gathered in the parking lot scream and run," Viparat said. "Officials help us out, police, rescue personnel, military."

At that time, the authorities launched a raid campaign while Jakkrapanth entrenched itself in the basement. After 20:00, the police declared the gunman the most wanted man and called on the public to provide information, and also published photos of the attacker. Authorities also began to evacuate a large number of people out, asking them to raise their hands and identify themselves. Police worried gunmen mixed into the crowd.

Outside, dozens of emergency personnel dressed in orange help the victims and the rescued. Relatives and friends of those trapped in the mall anxiously awaited news of their fate. The situation of deadlock lasted for hours. The whole city does not seem to sleep.

Officials took the gunman's mother from her hometown in Chaiyaphum province to an area near the mall but she could not go inside. The mother said it was no use trying to negotiate with her son, because he had depression and a bad temper.

3am 9/2, officials raided to kill or kill the gunman. A series of gunfire erupted, but they had to retreat. An officer was hit by a bullet and died later. He was the last victim killed.

"People trapped in the freezer send us messages that oxygen levels are very low and they're choking," Puridet said. "So we have to risk confronting him face to face or the people trapped inside will die."

When the last raid occurred, officials refused to answer reporters' questions. A video posted on Twitter later shows the situation inside. The gunman is dead, the body lies outside the cold storage of the supermarket, nearly two other bodies - a police officer and a female supermarket employee. A total of 29 people were killed and 58 injured.

Prime Minister Prayuth defended the security officials when asked why they took so long to handle the gunman. "You have to understand that there are civilians in the mall," he said. The Prime Minister said the gunman had mental problems for a long time.

"We have to consider mental health issues," he added. "I used to be the army commander. We have to admit if the soldiers have problems."

But for those who experience the attack, the culprit's mental health is nothing compared to the victim's life. In the elevator at Maharaj Hospital, a girl sobbed while talking on the phone about a loved one in critical condition.

Last night, hundreds of people gathered near the mall to commemorate, they lined up to write words to express their grief to the victims.

"Is society turning into this now?" Thusanee Witchartorntakul, 53, a university lecturer, cried and said after staying up all night. "This is bad. I can't stand it."