The ‘pings’ from the metal targets at a gun range ring out as a baby-faced shooter smiles for the camera — a chilling prelude to the mall massacre by a Thai soldier who shared his prowess as a marksman on social media.

But more than a day after he was shot dead following a near 17-hour shooting spree that killed 29 people and left dozens more wounded, the killer — Jakrapanth Thomma — remains something of an enigma.

The Thai army, powerful yet reliant on conscripts and the projection of discipline, has released few details about the 31-year-old, blaming his meltdown on a “personal dispute” over debt.

“He didn’t have a bad record, only this time,” army spokesman Colonel Winthai Suvaree told AFP.