More than 30 people have been killed in a horror mass shooting at a children’s daycare centre in Thailand, with victims as young as two years old.
The former policeman first shot dead multiple adults including an eight-month pregnant woman, before forcing his way into a locked room where children were sleeping to stab them to death.
Panya Khamrap, 34, continued the massacre in the nearby streets and buildings before fleeing in a white van which he torched at his home before killing his wife and child and turning the gun on himself.
Dozens of blood-soaked bodies were scattered across the floor and grounds of the nursery.
In total, 35 people have been killed along with the shooter. 24 bodies, including 19 boys, three girls and two adults were found at the nursery. A further adult and young boy were killed outside the centre in a nearby government office.
At the shooter’s house, one boy and four adults were found dead, and another adult at a nearby building was also killed. Three further adults were taken to hospital where they were pronounced dead.
At least 12 other people were injured in the rampage and are being treated at hospital.
Khamrap was allegedly fired from the force after failing a drugs test, and was due in court tomorrow.
Among the dead are at least 24 children and multiple teachers after the brutal massacre carried out by a former policeman who then took his own life
Dozens of blood-soaked bodies were scattered across the floor and in the grounds outside the nursery
In total, 35 people have been killed. 24 bodies, including 19 boys, three girls and two adults were found at the nursery
Police Major General Achayon Kraithong said the shooting happened in the town of Nongbua Lamphu early in the afternoon
The suspect has been named by police as Panya Khamrap (pictured) who was allegedly fired from the force last year after failing a drugs test
A manhunt was launched after the massacre at the nursery but police could only arrive to find the shooter and his family already dead at his home
A huge manhunt was launched after the massacre at the nursery but police could only arrive at the shooter’s home to find his burned-out pickup truck and his family already dead inside.
About 30 children were at the centre when the gunman came in around lunchtime, district official Jidapa Boonsom told Reuters.
The man first shot four or five staff, including a teacher who was eight months pregnant, Jidapa said.
‘At first people thought it was fireworks,’ she added.
The gunman escaped in a white four-door Vigo pickup truck and the bumper fell off as he fled.
The prime minister had alerted all agencies to take action and apprehend the culprit, a government spokesperson said, before they found his dead body.
PM Prayuth Chan-ocha said it was a shocking incident and sent condolences to the families of the victims.
On his Facebook page, Prayuth ordered all agencies to urgently treat the wounded
Police Major General Achayon Kraithong said the shooting happened in the town of Nongbua Lamphu early in the afternoon.
He escaped in a white four-door Vigo pickup truck and the bumper fell off as he fled
The prime minister alerted all agencies to take action and apprehend the culprit (pictured)
The massacre occurred in Nong Bua Lamphu, in the northeast of the Southeast Asian country
People stand around at the nursery in shellshock after the horrific killings
Khamrap was allegedly fired from the force after failing a drugs test, and was due in court tomorrow
The rate of gun ownership in Thailand is high compared with some other countries in the region.
But official figures do not include huge numbers of illegal weapons, many of which have been brought in across porous borders over the years from strife-torn neighbours.
But in the past year, there have been at least two other cases of shooting murders by serving soldiers, according to the Bangkok Post.
And in 2020, in one of the kingdom’s deadliest incidents in recent years, a soldier gunned down 29 people in a 17-hour rampage and wounded scores more before he was shot dead by commandos.
That mass shooting was linked to a debt dispute between gunman Sergeant-Major Jakrapanth Thomma and a senior officer, and the military top brass were at pains to portray the killer as a rogue soldier.