A former policeman facing drug charges stormed a daycare center in northeastern Thailand on Thursday, killing dozens of preschoolers and teachers before shooting more people as he fled in Thailand’s deadliest rampage the history of the country.
The attacker, who was dismissed from the force earlier this year, killed himself after killing his wife and son at home.
A witness said the daycare staff locked the door when they saw the assailant approaching with a gun, but he shot inside. At least 37 people were killed in the attack in one of Thailand’s poorest areas, according to police spokesman Archayon. Kraithong.
A distraught woman is comforted outside the scene of an attack at a daycare center in Thailand. (AP) An ambulance attends to people at the scene of an attack on a daycare center in Thailand. (AP)
“The teacher who died, she had a child in her arms,” the witness, whose name was not released, told Thai television station Kom Chad Luek.
“I didn’t think he was going to kill kids, but he shot at the door and shot straight through.”
Video captured by a first responder who arrived at the scene of the single-story daycare center in the rural town of Nongbua Lamphu showed rescuers rushing into the building past the broken glass front door, with drops of blood visible on the floor.
In footage posted online after the attack, the frantic family could be heard crying outside the building, and one image showed the floor of a room smeared with blood where mats were strewn about. Pictures of the alphabet and other colorful decorations adorned the walls.
Police identified the suspect as former police officer Panya Kamrap, 34. Police General Paisal Luesomboon told PPTV in an interview that he was fired from the force earlier this year because of the drug charge.
An image taken from a video shows people gathered outside the scene of an attack on a day care center in Thailand. (AP)
In a Facebook post, Thai police chief General Dumrongsak Kittiprapas said the man, who had been a sergeant, was to appear in court today for a hearing in the methamphetamine possession case, and he speculated that he might have chosen the daycare center because it was nearby. at his house
Earlier, Dumrongsak told reporters that the main weapon used was a 9mm pistol that the man had bought himself. Paisal said he also had a shotgun and a knife.
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who plans to travel to the scene today, told reporters that initial reports were that the former officer had personal problems.
“This shouldn’t happen,” he said.
“I feel deep sadness for the victims and their families.”
Police have not given a full breakdown of the death toll, but said at least 22 children and two adults were killed at the daycare. At least two other children were killed elsewhere. They said 12 people were injured.
Gun deaths in Thailand are much lower than in countries like the United States and Brazil, but higher than in countries like Japan and Singapore that have strict gun control laws. The rate of firearm-related deaths in 2019 was about 4 per 100,000, compared to about 11 per 100,000 in the US and almost 23 per 100,000 in Brazil.
Mass shootings are rare but not unheard of in Thailand, which has one of the highest rates of civilian gun ownership in Asia, with 15.1 guns per 100 residents, compared to just 0.3 in Singapore and 0.25 in Japan. That’s still far below the US rate of 120.5 per 100 people, according to a 2017 survey by Australian non-profit GunPolicy.org.
The country’s worst previous mass shooting involved a disgruntled soldier who opened fire at a shopping center in the northeastern city of Nakhon Ratchasima in 2020, killing 29 people and holding off security forces for about 16 hours before being killed by them
A photo released by Thailand’s Criminal Investigation Bureau of the suspect in the Thailand daycare shooting. (AP)
Last month, an employee shot co-workers at Thailand’s Army War College in Bangkok, killing two and injuring another before being arrested.