Steph Deschamps / October 6, 2022
The assailant who attacked a day care center in Thailand with a gun and knife then killed his family before committing suicide, after killing 35 people according to a latest report, including at least 23 children, a police colonel in the northern province of Nong Bua Lamphu said Thursday. Jakkapat Vijitraithaya said the gunman, a 34-year-old former police officer, killed his wife and their child.
An earlier police report put the death toll at 32, including 23 children aged between two and three. The attack began at 12:30 p.m. local time at a nursery, before the assailant fled in a car and hit several pedestrians, according to Jakkapat Vijitraithaya. The shooter, Panya Khamrab, was dismissed from his position as a lieutenant colonel last year because of drug use.
A shooting by an army officer occurred in February 2020 in Thailand at a shopping mall in Nakhon Ratchasima, killing 29 people. The shooter, a 31-year-old chief warrant officer, was shot dead by law enforcement officers after his nearly 17-hour killing spree. He had acted after an argument with a superior. A sergeant major in the Royal Thai Army was also behind a shooting spree at a military site in Bangkok in September, killing two officers.
Thailand's Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha on Thursday ordered an investigation. "Regarding the horrific incident in Nong Bua Lamphu province, I would like to express my deepest sorrow and condolences to the families of the deceased and injured," the leader wrote on his Facebook account.