The country's deputy prime minister says at least 20 people have been killed in a mass shooting there after a soldier opened fire at a shopping mall in a province northeast of Bangkok, and the shooter has not been caught.

Ivan Watson is following all of this for us from Hong Kong.

Ivan.

This situation has been going on for hours.

It is still active.

What's the latest we've just heard from the spokesman of the Defense Ministry in Thailand, who says that a combined military and police operation to clear and rescue people trapped in a shopping mall in central Thailand is still underway and that they believe that the shooter is still somewhere in that mall.

That's the Terminal 21 shopping mall in the province of Knock on Raja Seema, the city of the same name, one of the largest in Thailand.

Now this drama has been unfolding in the death toll as you mentioned does continue the mount, with the deputy prime minister telling journalists that at least 20 people have been killed and at least 31 or injured with 10 of those victims in critical condition.

Now the authorities say that this is the work of one man, that they have accused a member of the Thai armed forces from the 22nd Ammunition Battalion, who, according to the security forces, quarreled with a senior officer and killed him and then stole weapons and a vehicle and eventually made his way to the shopping mall, Terminal 21.

And that along the way, this carnage has unfolded there.

So certainly a very grim scenario.

They're also quite startling to see the Thai security forces publishing images of their operation, of how they've actually been helping escort clearly terrified civilians out of that shopping mall.

And as the operation has been unfolding, they've actually been posting advice to people who could be trapped in the building, advising them on first finding a place to hide muting their cell phones, for example, and then announcing that they have gotten in on the ground floor and advising people in that shopping mall on how to emerge with their hands up to hopefully get to safety.

But as I mentioned, this is still an ongoing and very tense situation there.

It really is incredible seeing everybody just running, running, trying to find a place to hide their do authorities at this point, No, at what the motive could be.

All that we have heard this far is that they're claiming that this is the work of one man again a sub lieutenant.

And they've been publishing his photos of the suspect, Jakrapob Toma, saying, accusing him of again getting into dispute with a senior officer, killing that officer and then stealing Ah, Humvee and weapons, including a machine gun, and then accusing him of conducting this rampage on his own.

You had a spokesperson for the tide Defense Ministry saying that not only was this individual skilled with weapons as a member of the armed forces, but highlighting this specific individual as being exceptionally qualified with those weapons, and if you look at the death toll, it's just staggering again.

At least 20 people killed, according to the Defense Ministry, and at least 31 injured, with 10 quite literally fighting for their lives in critical condition at a nearby hospital.

Alice All right, Ivan Watson live for us in Hong Kong with the latest Thank you very much.

John Fielding, who was inside the mall during the deadly shooting.

John, thank you so much for talking with us.

We're very happy that you're safe.

Um, walk me through what you were doing inside the mall where you were in the mall when you knew something was wrong.

Yeah, I was just at the moon with a friend.

Everything was completely normal.

I met a with sudden.

Everyone started running.

I love you shouting and panicking.

Ana.

Media reaction is kind of stop down and hide.

And then everyone was running into the restaurant barricading the door.

Luckily, we're right next to a restaurant.

We went inside and shut up there.

So you stayed inside the restaurant.

But then for how long?

And then when When were you able to get out?

And how did you get out?

Okay, so, yeah, I just a minute.

No one was really panicking.

Everyone looking pretty glass 20 happening.

Exactly.

And then some of the locals get Nutri Day the mass shooting right next to where we were.

So anyone turned up the lights on.

We have to gate kicking in the back and just crack on high on your way without a fight in yet.

Um, eventually we had some cool today.

It's on board.

It would be a security and they evacuated out.

Could you tell how many people you know?

Perhaps where we're really running from those shots that were being fired.

Could you tell the amount of people that were sort of left inside the mall where the shots were being fired?

There is a huge, more really busy in there in the past today.

Nothing 1000 being, um I would hide in a kitchen of about 20 people on but here when they evacuated us out.

Hundreds.

Probably thousands of people trapped in there for five hours.

Did you ever see the gunman?

Did you describe to me what it's what the shot sounded like to you?

And how did all this make you feel?

I didn't quite hear.

I didn't see the government.

I didn't really hear anything either.

I was trapped on the fourth floor on all the reports that I tell me that he was on the fourth floor with hostages on DDE had a bomb strapped in, but he was definitely close by.

Well, I'm very happy that you are safe and out of there.

John Fielding.

Thank you so much for talking with me.