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An Army soldier has killed at least 22 people in a mass shooting and taken hostages inside a shopping centre while live-steaming sick videos taunting his victims and police.

It is still an active shooter situation with the masked suspect, named by police as Sergeant Major Jakrapanth Thomma, at large and believed to be holed up inside the Terminal 21 mall in Korat in north-eastern Thailand.

A further 31 people have been injured, police spokesman Kissana Phathanacharoen has said.

Three seriously injured victims were flown by helicopter to Bangkok for emergency treatment.

Shortly before 12am local time (5pm GMT) the security forces stormed the mall and evacuated people on the ground floor.

By 12.30am the first, second and third floors had also been taken back, with no sign of the shooter.

Earlier reports that all the people had been evacuated from the mall were later contradicted when more casualies were liberated shortly before 4am local time.

Have you been affected by the incident? Email webnews@mirror.co.uk.

(Image: ViralPress)

Survivors told reporters that a group of seven or eight of them had hidden in toilet cubicles for close to seven hours while they heard gunfire outside.

While Thai outlets had been reporting that the situation was "under control" as of 2.30am, gunfire was heard inside the mall a short while later.

Thomma has reportedly shot three police officers and a second gas canister while attempting to escape out of the back of the mall.

Two police officers were declared dead at around 4am local time.

A police cordon of around 1km has been set up surrounding the shopping centre as roughly 200 police, military and special forces work to free the hostages.

The gunman is believed to be armed with two M60 machine guns, two Heckler & Koch HK33s and dozens of rounds.

The 32-year-old suspect wrote on Facebook that he was seeking "revenge" and had recently posted pictures of himself wielding a gun in full uniform or showing off his firearms.

It appeared he was a fanatic of Norwegian right-wing terrorist Anders Behring Breivik.

Wearing a military helmet and tactical outfit, he said in one chilling video clip that he was exhausted from shooting his victims, adding: "I’m tired now. I can’t move my finger anymore."

(Image: via REUTERS)

(Image: REUTERS)

As the killing spree unfolded, posts on his Facebook page read "So tired", “Oh s***, I’ve got cramps in my hand" and "Dead? Is that 3 people?"

Some posts included crying laughing emojis before the profile was taken offline about two hours after the rampage began.

Another post read: "Should I give up?"

Hours before the slaughter, a post read "Death is inevitable for everyone" and a picture appeared to show his hand holding a gun.

According to a reporter at The Strait Times the gunman's mother has been employed to speak to him over the phone.

(Image: Facebook)

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The soldier, based at the Suratham Phithak military camp, is reported to have first shot and killed his Army commander and a woman at a private home where they were meeting to settle a debt problem.

He drove a Humvee to the Army base, where he stole several guns and dozens of rounds of ammunition, and shot and killed at least one guard.

The shooter drove the stolen Humvee into Korat city centre and began shooting civilians at random.

The gunman then ditched the vehicle and shot a gas tank outside the shopping centre, causing an explosion and massive fire.

He then entered the mall, where he shot a number of people and took hostages.

One of the people who was held in the mall is a 26-year-old Filipino teacher who works in the city.

He was in the shopping centre with his 80 students who were reportedly attending prom.

They have since managed to escape, Channel News Asia corespondent May Wong reported.

(Image: ViralPress)

Defence ministry spokesman Kongcheep Tantrawanit said: "We don't know why he did this. It appears he went mad."

Horrifying video clips captured by witnesses show the gunman exiting a car and firing a number of rounds into a crowd outside the mall as people flee in terror at about 5.30pm local time on Saturday.

Rapid bursts of gunfire are heard in video posted a witness in Korat, also known as Nakhon Ratchasima.

It shows people running for their lives in a car park and others ducking amid heavy gunfire.

Another clip shows terrified shoppers escaping the building as shots are fired.

(Image: REUTERS)

In another, a wounded and blood-covered man is seen being helped inside the shopping centre as people flee.

There are concerns the soldier has explosives.

According to military official Chakrphan Thomma, the gunman is an expert in long rang shooting.

The authorities put nearby hospitals on alert and asked for blood donations.

Public health minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Facebook that a doctor was shot while helping an injured person.

CCTV posted online allegedly shows the shooter casually strolling past shops while carrying an assault rifle and wearing a helmet and face mask.

Workers and customers were hiding in the building while the gunman was still inside. More than 80 people had been rescued and it was feared dozens were trapped.

Journalist Chatsurang Kongph, 30, who went to the scene after the shooting started, was among those who were unable to flee.

She said she "doesn't know if we'll come out alive" as the gunman was still on the loose.

(Image: REUTERS)

Major General Apirat Kongsompong said he had ordered all available police and military units in the area to attend the scene.

The dead are said to include police officers, a child, taxi drivers and a student.

Motorcyclists were shot dead at a junction and a number of others were killed inside or next to vehicles. The gunman is said to have fired at a Buddhist temple.

(Image: ViralPress)

The suspect has posted chilling selfies, including one showing him in front of the fire outside the mall and another showing him holding a rifle.

Another image shows a .44-calibre Magnum with an amulet wrapped around it. A caption with a photo of a handgun read: "It is time to get excited."

The suspect posted a number of rants in the hours leading up to the massacre.

He told how he was seeking "revenge", adding: "Getting rich from corruption and taking advantage of other people, do they think they can bring money with them to spend in hell?"

In an earlier post, he wrote about studying Breivik, the Norwegian terrorist who killed almost 70 people, most of them children, at a summer camp in 2011.

(Image: Facebook)

A woman interviewed by Thailand's Channel One television said she had heard gunshots when she was at the shopping mall and hid in a clothing store with other people before escaping.

Thai army chief Apirat Kongsompong issued an order for local army commanders to rush to the scene and investigate.

Police and soldiers launched a hunt for the gunman and set up a cordon around the shopping centre after he ran inside.

Streets were sealed off and a one-mile security radius was set up around the scene of the siege as the authorities urged people to stay away.

(Image: THAI ROYAL POLICE/AFP via Getty)

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha expressed condolences to the families of those killed.

He said: "I have been reporting events in Korat all the time.

"Has instructed all departments to perform their duties to the fullest.

"The most important thing right now is the safety of our fellow citizens and officials. I would like to extend my condolences to the injured family and the dead."

(Image: Facebook)

Facebook says removed account of gunman in Thai shooting

Facebook said it had removed the suspect's account and vowed to remove any content related to the attack that violated its policies.

A spokesperson said: "Our hearts go out to the victims, their families and the community affected by this tragedy in Thailand.

"There is no place on Facebook for people who commit this kind of atrocity, nor do we allow people to praise or support this attack.

"We have removed the gunman's accounts from our services and will work around the clock to remove any violating content related to this attack as soon as we become aware of it."

Korat is more than 150 miles from the capital Bangkok.

Mass shootings are very rare in Thailand, which has one of the biggest rates of gun ownership and a high gun murder rate.

In January, a gunman killed three people, including a two-year-old, during a robbery at a jewellery store in Lopburi province.