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A Gunman Attacked A Day Care In Thailand, Shooting, Stabbing And Killing 34 People, Mostly Children

An ex-policeman launched a knife and gun attack at a day care center in Thailand, killing at least 30 people, including 23 children and a teacher who was eight months pregnant, on Oct. 6.

Kassy Cho

Kassy Cho

— 4 min read
A Gunman Attacked A Day Care In Thailand, Shooting, Stabbing And Killing 34 People, Mostly Children
An ex-policeman launched a knife and gun attack at a day care center in Thailand, killing at least 34 people, including 23 children and a teacher who was eight months pregnant, on Thursday Oct. 6.
The attacker, identified as 34-year-old Panya Kamrab, opened fire and stabbed children as young as two years old while they were sleeping at about noon local time at the center in the town of Uthai Sawan, about 500 kilometers (310 miles) northeast of Bangkok.
Families of victims of a mass shooting and stabbing at a child care center mourn while waiting for blessings from Buddhist monks on Oct. 7, 2022 in Uthai Sawan subdistrict, Nong Bua Lamphu, Thailand. (Photo by Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images)
The total death toll from the event is 37 people, and the attack is one of the world’s worst child massacres by a single killer in recent histor, according to Reuters.
The mother of a victim cries outside a nursery in Thailand’s northeastern Nong Bua Lam Phu province on Oct. 7, 2022, the day after a former police officer killed at least 34 people in a mass shooting. (Photo by MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP via Getty Images)

About 10 other people were injured from the attack, according to authorities.

Panya had been fired from the police force in June for possession of methamphetamine, and his trial had been set to start on Friday Oct. 7.
Women wait to lay white roses on the steps of the nursery, where a former police officer killed at least 34 people in a mass shooting, in Na Klang in Thailand’s northeastern Nong Bua Lam Phu province on Oct. 7, 2022.(Photo by MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP via Getty Images)
Hours before the attack, he had attended court for the drug possession charge, according to CNN.
After court, he went to pick up his child at the center, but when he was not able to find him, he started the massacre, a police spokesperson told local news ThaiPBS, Reuters reported.
The mother of a victim cries outside a nursery in Thailand’s northeastern Nong Bua Lam Phu province on Oct. 7, 2022, the day after a former police officer killed at least 34 people in a mass shooting. (Photo by MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP via Getty Images)
Police said the firearm that Panya possessed had been legally owned.
Families of victims of a mass shooting and stabbing at a child care center mourn while waiting for blessings from Buddhist monks on Oct. 7, 2022 in Nong Bua Lamphu, Thailand. (Photo by Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images)
Police statements indicate most children died from being stabbed.
A woman cries after laying white roses on the steps of the nursery, where a former police officer killed at least 34 people in a mass shooting, in Na Klang in Thailand’s northeastern Nong Bua Lam Phu province on Oct. 7, 2022. (Photo by MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP via Getty Images)
“It all went down really fast. He was slashing the knife, he didn’t use the gun, he kept slashing in there. It’s all by a knife,” a teacher told Reuters.
A man cries outside a child care center where a former police officer killed at least 34 people in a mass shooting on Oct. 7, 2022 in Nong Bua Lamphu, Thailand. (Photo by Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images)
Police have asked for blood tests to determine whether the attacker had been under the influence of drugs.
Sittipong Taothawong comforts his wife Kanjana Buakumchan as she holds their child’s milk bottle and blanket while standing outside the nursery in Thailand’s Nong Bua Lam Phu province on Oct. 7, 2022, the day after a former police officer killed at least 37 people in a mass shooting at the site. (Photo by Manan VATSYAYANA / AFP) (Photo by MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP via Getty Images)
Thailand’s king and prime minister are set to visit the area on Friday to meet the victims’ families.
Families of victims mourn outside a child care center where a former police officer killed at least 34 people in a mass shooting on Oct. 7, 2022 in Nong Bua Lamphu, Thailand. (Photo by Sirachai Arunrugstichai/Getty Images)
Various countries such as the UK and the US have expressed their deepest condolences towards the victims’ families.
A royal wreath is displayed at the front of the nursery, where a former police officer killed at least 34 people in a mass shooting and stabbing attack, in Thailand’s northeastern Nong Bua Lam Phu province on Oct. 7, 2022. (Photo by MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP via Getty Images)
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