According to the Associated Press, more than 30 people, primarily children, were killed Thursday when a gunman opened fire in a childcare center in northeastern Thailand, authorities said.
Authorities say the shooting occurred early in the afternoon in the center of the town of Nong Bua Lamphu, and that attacker killed 30 people before taking his own life. Videos posted on social media showed sheets covering what appeared to be the bodies of children lying in pools of blood at the centre in the town of Uthai Sawan, 500 km (310 miles) northeast of Bangkok
A spokesperson for a regional public affairs office said 26 deaths have been confirmed so far — 23 children, two teachers, and one police officer.
“The shooter came in around lunchtime and shot four or five officials at the childcare centre first,” a local official named Jidapa Boonsom told Reuters.
Jidapa said he then forced his way into a locked room where the children were napping and murdered them with a knife.
Several media outlets identified the assailant as a former police lieutenant colonel from the region but there was no immediate official confirmation.
The Daily News newspaper reported that after fleeing the scene of the attack the assailant returned to his home and killed himself along with his wife and child.
The mainstream media have been quick to point out that “shootings of this nature are rare in Thailand,” however, in 2020, a soldier angry over a property deal that went wrong went on a rampage, killing at least 29 people and wounding 57 others. The incident took place across four locations.
