However, his plans were thwarted when he was killed in a shootout with police in Pulau Ketam, Klang, early today.

Bernama said the police ambush may have come in the nick of time as a restaurant operator in Pulau Ketam divulged the gunman’s plans to flee to Thailand.

The man said the shooter, nicknamed “Ah Boy” by police, had enquired about boat trips to Thailand after arriving on the island yesterday evening.

He said the gunman casually spoke about meeting up with his wife and child in Thailand.

“While buying food, the suspect informed that he had to choose a passage by sea because he could not fly there as his passport had been blacklisted.

“He said he wanted to see his wife and child because he missed them after a long separation,” said the restaurant operator, who preferred to remain anonymous, when met by media at the hotel in Pulau Ketam where the shootout took place.

Selangor police chief Hussein Omar Khan said the gunman, who was in his 30s, was shot dead at about 3am today in a raid by teams from the Bukit Aman and Selangor criminal investigation departments which had been tracking his movements since the shooting at the Setia Alam mall on the night of Feb 8.

Hussein said the man had committed five more crimes after the mall shooting before fleeing to Pulau Ketam, an island which is a 30-minute boat ride off Port Klang.

A hotel worker known only as Cha, 33, said the suspect had checked into a hotel located near the jetty at 5.15pm yesterday wearing a hat and carrying a small plastic bag of his belongings.

He said the gunman appeared nonchalant and aroused no suspicion. He checked into a ground-floor room of the two-storey hotel.

“During the raid at around 3am, I was shocked after being jolted by several gunshots,” he said.

Cha said he and 12 guests were in the dark about the police ambush. They were earlier ordered out of their hotel rooms.

He said the situation returned to normal after police removed the suspect’s body six hours later.