ICYMI: Sea Of People End Up Waiting On Road On JB Side Of Causeway On Friday Night
It was anxious moments for Tunku Mahkota of Johor (TMJ) Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim yesterday as he and his family were at a hotel near Bangkok's Siam Paragon Mall where a deadly shooting took place.
The Johor crown prince said the family were sitting in the lobby of the hotel when the shooting began. He said people began shouting and rushing into the hotel from the mall at that point. They were then rushed to safety to the basement of the hotel, he said.
"The only thing on my mind was how many shooters were there, what weapons they had and what was the situation. We didn't have any other information and had to be ready for anything. We had to be on alert and be prepared for any circumstance because all we knew at that point were the gunshots we heard. We didn't have any other information and had to be ready for anything."
"I still have images of me telling my kids, 'everything is going to be okay. Babah and Mama are here' and telling them to get down while waiting for the car," he said in a Facebook posting late last night, just hours after the incident happened.
Tunku Ismail said he and his security team stood in front of the family to create a human shield to protect them until they could escape from the area.
"The idea was to get the family and my team out of there. My wife hugged all our kids, staying low and trying to calm them because they were terrified and were crying. I was shouting at the top of my voice to our security to get the car to the basement and get us to a secure location away from the place," he said.
Tunku Ismail said he told his team to go to the Malaysian embassy in Thailand, but his driver informed him that the Singaporean embassy was closer, so he contacted the Singapore consul-general in Johor for assistance.
Thankfully they are now safe at the embassy, he said. "I called the Malaysian prime minister and our defence minister to inform them what was happening. The Malaysian ambassador (to Thailand) is also with us. Once it is safe, we will go to the airport and fly back to Johor. Sadly, I missed the JDT game but I'm glad my family and our team are safe."
"This is the worst experience I've ever gone through. Protecting the lives of my children from a killer. "(Two) people died. May God bless their innocent souls. Alhamdulillah, we're safe. Thanks to my security team and our friends from Singapore and Malaysia. I will forever be grateful to all of you," he said.
Around 3.30am today, he updated on X (formerly Twitter) that the family had safely returned to Johor.
Two people died and five others wounded in the mall shooting yesterday. Initial reports, however, had it at three dead. According to reports from local media, a 14-year-old suspect has been apprehended for discharging a firearm inside the mall. Malaysian ambassador to Thailand Datuk Jojie Samuel later confirmed that no Malaysians were involved in the shooting incident.
