Mass shooting at Thailand daycare centre leaves at least 34 dead
A Thai official confirmed to Reuters that the gunman also killed his wife and child during the incident on Thursday afternoon, before killing himself.
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Posted 1h ago1 hours ago, updated 25m ago25 minutes ago
Police said the gunman opened fire early in the afternoon in the province of Nong Bua Lamphu.(Google Maps)
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At least 34 people, primarily children, have been killed in a mass shooting after a former police officer opened fire at a daycare centre in north-eastern Thailand, authorities say.
The dead include at least 23 children, some as young as two years old, as well as two teachers and one police officer.
At least 12 people were injured in addition to the 34 casualties.
A Thai official confirmed to Reuters that the gunman also killed his wife and child during the incident on Thursday afternoon, before killing himself.
About 30 children were at the centre when the gunman came in around lunchtime, district official Jidapa Boonsom said.
The man first shot four or five staff, including a teacher who was eight months pregnant, she said.
This handout from the Facebook page of Thailand's Central Investigation Bureau shows a picture of the alleged shooter.(AFP: Thailand's Central Investigation Bureau)
"At first people thought it was fireworks," she added.
Police Colonel Jakkapat Vijitraithaya, from the province of Nong Bua Lamphu where the attack took place, identified the gunman as Panya Khamrab, a former police lieutenant-colonel he said was dismissed from the force last year for drug use.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said the shooting had shocked the country, and sent his condolences to the families of the dead and injured.
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.
Mass shootings are rare, but in 2020 a soldier angry over a property deal killed at least 29 people and wounded 57 in a rampage that spanned four locations.
More to come.
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