In a shocking and disturbing turn of events, an ex-policeman has murdered at short about 37 people, most of which were children, in a gun and knife assault at a childcare centre in north-east Thailand.
The assailant, believed to be Panya Kamrab, was a local police sergeant who had been restrained for narcotic usage sometime around January and then was eventually expelled in June. He was to have appeared for a trial on Thursday for the usage of drugs and additionally speculated the sale of methamphetamine. The ruling was due on Friday.
The assailant and former police aged 34, armed himself with a shotgun, a pistol and a knife before entering the daycare sometime around 12:30 pm Thailand time.
Headmaster Nanticha Panchum stated that the aggressor’s son used to be a child who attended the daycare centre but had not been there for about a month. She stated that he always used to leave his child at the centre and that he was constantly polite and conversational, she said.
Ms Panchum also stated that there were usually over 90 children who attend the daycare, but hardly a bit over 20 were attending on Thursday due to the harsh weather and a central bus breaking down.
Kids and grown-ups were among the victims at the daycare. The police state that the assailant primarily stabbed his victims before escaping from the scene.
A local official named Jidapa Boonsom who was close by stated that the assailant arrived sometime around lunchtime and shot about four to five officials at the childcare centre initially. Amongst them was a teacher who was around eight months expectant.
At least, 23 kids were found dead in the shocking crowd killing in Utthai Sawan town. Several of the victims aged as young as about two were attacked as they dozed.
At the very least, about a dozen people who were wounded have been taken to the Nong Bua Lamphu area hospital.
In the beginning, people believed that they heard fireworks, the headmaster stated, adding on to the fact that the assailant forced access to a locked room where kids were napping.
In a social media video, we can sow the tears and distress of parents and relatives of those killed, as they gathered at a shelter outside the centre.
The police officers who arrived at the scene following the attack were met face to face with horrific sights of the bodies of grown-ups and kids, some of them being extremely young, lying inside and outside of the facility.
After examining the crime setting, the police discovered that the assailant attempted to break into the facility and he primarily utilized a knife to perpetrate the crime by murdering a number of young children, reported Police Chief Damrongsak Kittiprapat.
The police commenced a search for the assailant and warned all local residents to stay indoors and be on high alert for their safety. The facts of what was pursued are still emerging, but after he escaped the facility in a white 4-door Toyota truck which had Bangkok registration numbers present on it. During the process, he drove into some bystanders and he even commenced injuring and murdering anyone he encountered along the way home with either a gun or a knife. The police encircled his home and then discovered that he committed suicide after killing his wife and child.
It is not evident at this point whether there was a motive for the assault. Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha stated that the incident was a shocking event. Perhaps all we can do for now is have a moment of silence for the departed and put in greater effort to end such tragedies from happening.
