Thailand – Massacre in a kindergarten: The perpetrator slaughtered the children with a knife while they were sleeping

Chilling and inhumane details of the brutal attack by a gunman on a Thai kindergarten continue to emerge.

At least 34 people were killed, including 23 children between the ages of 2 and 3, while the attacker – a former police officer who killed his wife and child before killing himself – was armed with a gun and a knife.

The alleged attacker had been dismissed from his service for drug-related reasons, Chakrapat Wichitvaidya told media. He said that eyewitnesses stated that the gunman was also holding a knife.

The attack began at 12:30 local time (09:30 Greek time) at a daycare center before the attacker fled in a car, hitting several pedestrians, Jakapat Wijitraitaya, a police colonel in Nong Bua Lambu province, told AFP.

About 30 children were in the daycare center when the gunman entered the premises, less than usual as heavy rains kept many people confined to their homes, Jipada Bonsom, a local official who was working in a nearby office at the time, told Reuters.

Mass #shooting at a #childcare center in #Thailand‘s northeastern province of Nong Bua Lam Phu. Initial reports indicate 38 people killed, mostly children.
Police have named a suspect, a 34-year-old former police officer.
He’s still on the run. #shooting #ที่วั่วนั่ว้ายลับ pic.twitter.com/dfsfqebTUk

— Chaudhary Parvez (@ChaudharyParvez) October 6, 2022

“The attacker came around lunchtime and first shot four or five staff members at the daycareJidappa said, adding that among them was a teacher who was eight months pregnant. “At first, people thought it was sparklers,” she added. Then the perpetrator broke into a locked room where children were sleeping, Jidappa said, in order to kill them with a knife.

Videos posted on social media showed sheets covering the bodies of children lying in pools of blood in the center of Utai Sawan town in Nong Bua Lambu province.

The attacker had attended a court hearing on drug charges before opening fire at the daycare, police said.

At least 32 people including children, were killed by an ex-policeman raiding a child care center in Na Klang.

He was last seen driving a white Toyota pick-up truck with Bangkok plates 6กธ-6499. He is considered armed and very dangerous. #காட்டியுக்க்குக்கள் pic.twitter.com/ybopPPBArw

— Asia News (@asianewsteam) October 6, 2022

The gunman was worried when he arrived at the daycare center to find his child was not there and ran away, then fired at passersby and hit them with his car, police spokesman Paisan Louesobon told ThaiPBS television. According to him, the attacker returned by car to his house and killed his wife and child.

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha spoke of a shocking incident, and expressed his condolences to the families of the victims.

Twitter has been flooded with thousands of messages of support for the victims’ relatives as the mass killing of young children has shocked the world.

This is so heartbreaking 😭

REST IN PEACE CHILDREN 🙏🏻🙏🏻
And All Those Affected By This Tragedy. #காட்டியுக்க்குக்கள் pic.twitter.com/g4TItO8iN8

— ♡MileApo Files 📁 (@MileApoFiles) October 6, 2022

Shooting incidents like today’s are rare in Thailand, even though the gun ownership rate is high compared to some other countries in the region, and there are many illegal weapons on the market. In 2020 a soldier, angered by the failure of a real estate deal, killed at least 29 people and injured 57 in an attack at four locations.

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