At least 35 people, including children, were killed when a former police officer in Thailand opened fire at a daycare centre before turning the gun on his own family and then himself.
At around 12:30 p.m. (05:30 GMT) on Thursday, the assailant, who was carrying a shotgun, a pistol, and a knife, started the killing rampage in the province of Nong Bua Lam Phu before escaping in a pick-up truck.
At least 23 children were among the dead, according to police colonel Jakkapat Vijitraithaya. According to a witness, the shooter broke into a closed room where kids were sleeping at the time.
According to Jakkapat, the shooter killed his wife and child after the attack by returning home.
Former police officer Panya Khamrab, 34, was identified as the attacker. According to Jakkapat, Khamrab was fired from the force last year due to drug use.
The attacker stormed into the facility, as stated by Nanthicha Punchum, the acting head of the nursery.
The attacker parked his car and opened fire on four of the staff members who were enjoying lunch outside the daycare, she claimed. “The gunman used his leg to break down the door before entering and beginning to slice the children’s skulls with a knife.
The majority of the children at the childcare centre in Uthai Sawan, a town 500 kilometres (310 miles) northeast of Bangkok, were stabbed to death, according to authorities.
Parents in tears in a shelter outside the nursery, a yellow one-story building situated in a garden, were seen in footage taken after the incident.
When the shooter arrived at the centre at around lunchtime, there were about 30 kids there, according to district official Jidapa Boonsom.
A teacher who was eight months pregnant was among the four or five employees the perpetrator initially shot, according to Jidapa. “At first, many believed it to be fireworks… It’s quite startling. Once we realised there was gunfire, we fled to safety out of fear. I’ve never seen anything like it — there were so many children slaughtered.
At least two bodies were visible in photographs lying on the center’s floor and being covered in white sheets.
Killed his wife and child
The shooter had gone to the daycare in an attempt to locate his own child after attending a court hearing related to a narcotics case earlier on Thursday, but the child was not present, according to police spokeswoman Paisan Luesomboon, who spoke to Thai PBS.
“He was already anxious, and when he couldn’t find his child, he got more stressed and started shooting,” said Paisan, adding that the man then drove home and killed his wife and child there before taking his own life.
The national police head was instructed to “fast-track an inquiry” by Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha, who also announced that he will visit the attack’s scene on Friday.
