In the bloodiest rampage in the history of the country, a former policeman stormed a daycare facility in northeast Thailand on Thursday, murdering scores of children and teachers before shooting at more people as he left. After murdering his wife and kid at home, the attacker, whose investigators claim was discharged from the police service earlier this year due to a narcotics crime, committed himself.
According to a witness, daycare employees shut the entrance when they spotted the attacker coming toward them with a pistol, but he managed to shoot his way inside. An photograph of the blood-spattered floor of one room with sleeping mats lying about was released online following the assault, and worried family members could be heard sobbing outside the daycare. The walls were decorated with bright pictures of the alphabet and other objects.
According to police spokesperson Archayon Kraithong, the incident resulted in the deaths of at least 37 persons. Twelve more persons suffered injuries. Most of the victims were preschoolers, with at least 24 being children.
At the scene, a witness, whose identity was withheld, told Thailand’s Kom Chad Luek television, “The teacher who died, she had a kid in her arms.” “He fired at the door and went straight through it,” the witness said, “but I didn’t imagine he would murder children.”
The suspect was identified by authorities as Panya Kamrap, a former police officer, age 34. In an interview with PPTV, Police Maj. Gen. Paisal Luesomboon said that he was dismissed from the service earlier this year as a result of drug-related charges.
According to Paisel, the attacker used many weapons, including a revolver, a shotgun, and a knife.
The suspect was a sergeant on the force until he was discharged, according to the local police commander Damrongsak Kittiprapha, and his primary weapon was a 9mm handgun that he had bought himself.
We are still looking at everything, and we need to draw conclusions from it, he added. We don’t know all the information yet since this is the first day.
Although the police have not provided a complete breakdown of the fatalities, they have said that at least 22 children and two adults were murdered at the daycare in the town of Nongbua Lamphu in northeastern Thailand.
Thailand has a greater rate of firearm-related fatalities than nations with stricter gun control legislation, including Japan and Singapore, but considerably lower rates than nations like the US and Brazil. In 2019, there were almost 4 firearm-related fatalities per 100,000 people, compared to approximately 23 per 100,000 in Brazil and about 11 per 100,000 in the United States.
At Thailand’s Army War College in Bangkok last month, a clerk opened fire on his coworkers, killing two and injuring another before being apprehended.
A dissatisfied soldier who opened fire in and around a mall in the northeastern city of Nakhon Ratchasima in 2020, killing 29 people, was the previous biggest mass shooting in the nation. The shooter managed to elude security officers for almost 16 hours before being killed by them.
Reporters were informed by Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who was scheduled to visit the town on Friday, that the former officer was reportedly experiencing personal issues.
He said, “This shouldn’t happen. I am very sorry for the victims and their loved ones.