6th October, 2022
A gunman identified as a former police officer has killed at least 35 people in a childcare center in the town of Nongbua Lamphu, in northeastern Thailand, authorities said.
Those murdered in the attack that began at a childcare center include 24 children and 11 adults.
The gunman fled the childcare centre, shooting from his car as he drove home, where he killed his wife and child before taking his own life, police said.
According to reports, the initial attack came at about 12:30 p.m. when the former police officer entered the childcare center where he killed 19 boys, three girls and two adults before fleeing, according to a police statement.
The gunman also used knives in the attack, continued to shoot from his car as he was fleeing, hitting several people, police Maj. Gen. Paisal Luesomboon told The Associated Press.
After arriving home, he killed his wife and child before killing himself, according to the Daily News newspaper.
According to the Police, two children and 10 adults were killed by the gunman outside the childcare center, including the suspect, his wife and his son.
According to AP, Photos and videos of the scene posted online showed sleeping mats scattered in a preschool room, its floor smeared with blood, with alphabet pictures and other colorful wall decorations.
Videos carried the sound of wails as frantic family members wept and watched outside the nursery school building. Ambulances stood by as police and medical workers walked in the schoolyard.
Thailand’s previous worst mass shooting involved a disgruntled soldier who opened fire in and around a mall in the northeastern city of Nakhon Ratchasima in 2020, killing 29 people and holding off security forces for some 16 hours before eventually being killed by them.