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.
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.
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.
Hours before the attack, he had attended court for the drug possession charge, according to CNN.
#กราดยิง #หนองบัวลำภู Gunman identified by police as 34-year-old Panya Kamrab. He reportedly fled the scene in a white Toyota pick-up truck pic.twitter.com/LWSATXgy4K
— Pichayada P. (@PichayadaCNA) October 6, 2022
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.
Police said the firearm that Panya possessed had been legally owned.
Police statements indicate most children died from being stabbed.
“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.
Police have asked for blood tests to determine whether the attacker had been under the influence of drugs.
Thailand’s king and prime minister are set to visit the area on Friday to meet the victims’ families.
Various countries such as the UK and the US have expressed their deepest condolences towards the victims’ families.
