A former police officer, opened fire as children were sleeping at the centre in Na Klang district in Nong Bua Lamphu province, Thailand at about noon on Thursday killing thirty-eight people who are mostly young children.
Police also report that most of the children killed at the centre were stabbed to death by the attacker who drove his car towards them and shot at bystanders before returning home to shoot himself, his wife and his child. Witnesses said he was in an agitated state when he arrived at the nursery.
Identified as Panya Khamrab, a 34-year-old former police lieutenant colonel dismissed from the force last year for methamphetamine possession. He had appeared in court earlier on Thursday on a drugs charge.
Prayuth Chan-ocha, Thailand’s prime minister offered his deepest condolences to the families of the victims as he ordered the police chief to immediately go to the area and all the related agencies to help all those affected urgently.
While the cause of his actions cannot be immediately confirmed, the police sense it could be related to the stress and drugs of his court appearance as he had been in court earlier in the day and had then gone to the daycare centre to collect his child according to to report.
Meanwhile, officials said the results of an autopsy would determine whether or not he had taken drugs prior to the attack.
Reuters reported that “The shooter came in around lunchtime and shot four or five officials at the childcare centre first.”
About 30 children were at the facility when the attacker arrived, fewer than usual, as heavy rain had kept many people away, according to district officials.
Thailand, along with Myanmar and Laos, forms part of southeast Asia’s Golden Triangle, which has long been a notorious centre for trafficking and drug production.
