On Thursday, a former policeman opened fire on a daycare center in Thailand’s northeast, murdering scores of children and teachers before fleeing the scene and shooting more people.
After killing his wife and child at home, the assailant, who investigators say had been discharged from the force earlier this year for a drug infraction, shot himself in the head.
Witnesses said the daycare workers locked the entrance when they spotted the attacker coming, but the gunman still managed to get entry.
Family members could be heard sobbing frantically outside the daycare in footage shared online following the attack, and one shot showed blood spread over the floor of one room with sleeping mats strewn about.
The walls were covered with vibrant decorations and pictures of the alphabet.
According to police spokeswoman Archayon Kraithong, at least 37 individuals were murdered in the attack. Twelve more persons were injured in the incident. At least 24 of the victims were preschool-aged children.
An unidentified witness tells Thailand’s Kom Chad Luek television that the deceased educator was holding a toddler. He shot at the door and went straight through it, and I was shocked because I didn’t think he’d murder kids.
The suspect has been named as 34-year-old former police officer Panya Kamrap. In an interview with PPTV, former police major general Paisal Luesomboon explained that he had been discharged for drug-related activities. Patel claimed that the attacker was armed with a revolver, a shotgun, and a knife.
According to local police chief Damrongsak Kittiprapha’s statement to the press, the suspect had been a sergeant on the force before being sacked and had primarily relied on a 9mm pistol he had acquired with his own money.
All of this is still under investigation, and we have to take what we’ve learned from it into account, he said. We don’t have all the information we need at this time, but today is only the beginning.
At least 22 children and two adults were killed at the daycare in the Thai town of Nong Bua Lamphu, located in the country’s northeast. The police have not provided a comprehensive breakdown of the death toll.
Deaths caused by firearms in Thailand are fewer than in nations with looser gun control regulations, such as the United States or Brazil, but higher than in countries such as Japan or Singapore.
In 2019, the rate of mortality caused by firearms was almost 4% per 100,000 people, compared to 11% in the United States and nearly 23% in Brazil.
Recently, a clerk at Thailand’s Army War College in Bangkok opened fire on his coworkers, killing two and wounding another before being apprehended.
