Thailand: Nursery shooting death toll rises to 37, PM orders 'urgent' probe
Updated: Oct 06, 2022, 10:53 PM(IST)
In a tragic incident, at least 37 people, including children, were killed by a man armed with a gun and knife at a children's day-care centre in northeast Thailand on Thursday, police said. The gunman later went home and killed his wife and child before killing himself.
Police colonel Jakkapat Vijitraithaya identified the gunman as Panya Khamrab. He was a police lieutenant colonel and was dismissed from the force last year for drug use.
An eyewitness told news agency AFP that after the attacker fled the scene, he was driving erratically and tried to ram his vehicle into other people on the road. "The attacker rammed a motorbike and two people were injured. I sped off to get away from him," she said, adding that the attacker was well-known in the area as a drug addict.
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha ordered an urgent probe into the "horrifying" incident.
"Concerning this horrifying incident… I would like to express my deepest sorrow and condolences to the families of the dead and injured," Prayut wrote on his official Facebook page. He added that he had told the national police chief to "fast-track an investigation".
The force said that the attacker, armed with a shotgun, a pistol, and a knife, opened fire on the childcare centre in Nong Bua Lam Phu province at about 12:30 pm (0530 GMT) before fleeing the scene in a vehicle.
Jakkapat further informed that children, aged two to three years old, were among the casualties. Thai police are asking people not to share pictures and videos of the shooting and the victims on social media.
The mass killing comes less than a month after a serving army officer shot dead two colleagues at a military training base in the capital Bangkok.
While Thailand has high rates of gun ownership, mass shootings are extremely rare.
https://www.wionews.com/south-east-asia/man-armed-with-gun-and-knife-kills-31-including-children-in-thailand-nursery-attack-522945