The shooting occurred at about 11am near a Mezzo coffee shop and iStudio store on the second floor of Bangkok’s CentralPlaza Rattanathibet in Don Muang district. The shooting caused a panic among shoppers celebrating Valentine’s Day.

Pol Lieutenant Supalak Promwong, a Rattanathibet sub-police station investigating officer, said 50-year-old Suchart Pheupradit shot 44-year-old Pijakkana Somsakul three times in the chest with a .38 revolver. Suchart then shot himself and died at the scene.

A stray bullet hit a nine-year-old girl, Papassorn Kwaniam, in the face while she was sitting at the coffee shop. The girl was sent to Pranagklao hospital and later was reported safe.

The police initially assumed that Suchart had a romantically related problem with Pijakkana, who worked as a sale assistant at the shopping mall.

Suchart’s mother, who asked to remain anonymous, said her son had had a relationship with Pijjakkana for several years.

“Lately, there were many love-related issues with Pijiakkana, so her son had tried to reconcile several times, but unfortunately it ended up like this,” she said.