Thailand

A former policeman killed 38 people, including 22 children, in a knife and gun rampage at a daycare centre in Thailand on Thursday, later shooting dead his ...

Gun laws are strict in Thailand, where possession of an illegal firearm carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha was expected to visit the region on Friday. The massacre is among the worst involving children killed by one person. We surrounded his house and then found that he committed suicide in his home," Damrongsak Kittiprapas told reporters. "He started shooting, slashing, killing children at the Uthai Sawan daycare centre," Paisal said. "It's a scene that nobody wants to see.

At least 23 children killed by ex-Thai policeman who also shot dead his wife and child before turning weapon on himself.

“He intended to crash into others on the road,” she said. “There were some staff eating lunch outside the nursery and the attacker parked his car and shot four of them dead,” she said. We were very scared and running to hide once we knew it was a shooting. “At first people thought it was fireworks… The man first shot four or five staff, including a teacher who was eight months pregnant, Jidapa said. The dead included at least 23 children, said police Colonel Jakkapat Vijitraithaya.

At least 24 children and 11 adults were killed Thursday in an attack that began at a childcare centre in northeastern Thailand, authorities said.

Firearm-related deaths in Thailand are much lower than in countries like the United States and Brazil, but higher than in countries like Japan and Singapore which have strict gun control laws. Ambulances stood by as police and medical workers walked into the schoolyard. At least 24 children and 11 adults were killed Thursday in an attack that began at a childcare centre in northeastern Thailand, authorities said.

Former police officer Panya Khamrap, 34, was armed with a shotgun, a pistol and a meat cleaver when he burst into the nursery 480km northeast of Bangkok and ...

He used a knife and stabbed all the kids. He kicked the mirror and I climbed the walls and asked for help. "The shooter came in around lunchtime and shot four or five officials at the childcare centre first," local official Jidapa Boonsom told Reuters. Firearm-related deaths in Thailand are much lower than in countries like the United States and Brazil, but higher than in countries like Japan and Singapore that have strict gun control laws. "He also stabbed a pregnant teacher. He was carrying a small gun. Alphabet pictures and other colourful decorations adorned the walls. Twenty-four bodies, including 19 boys, three girls and two adults, were found at the daycare centre. "He was inside the child centre for a long time. "The teacher who died, she had a child in her arms," the witness, whose name wasn't given, told Thailand's Kom Chad Luek television. It is the deadliest mass killing in Thailand's history. Another three adults were found dead inside the home.

A former policeman killed dozens of people, including 23 children, in a knife-and-gun rampage at a daycare centre.

Gun laws are strict in Thailand where possession of an illegal firearm carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years. “He started shooting, slashing, killing children at the Utai Sawan daycare centre.” The attacker forced his way into a locked room where the children were sleeping, district official Jidapa Boonsom said. “We have to test his blood for drugs,” he said. “There were some staff eating lunch outside the nursery and the attacker parked his car and shot four of them dead,” she said. He later shot dead his wife and child at their home before turning a weapon on himself.

The gunman, identified by the police as Panya Kamrab, 34, shot and stabbed children at the child-care center, some as young as 2, Police Col. Jakkapat ...

“We stand with the people of Thailand and offer our deepest condolences to the victims and their families,” the embassy said in a statement. The Estonian Foreign Ministry [offered](https://twitter.com/MFAestonia/status/1577959172490018816?s=20&t=pkprztaEv4u5TVJopqm57A) its “deepest sympathies” to the families of the victims. He then stole a Humvee and drove to a seven-story shopping mall, where he engaged the police in an hourslong standoff that ended the next morning. At the time, the United Nations reported that the number of methamphetamine tablets seized in East and Southeast Asia had exceeded a billion in 2021. As in other areas of the northeast, life there is governed by the harsh annual fluctuation between drought and floods. The gunman had been scheduled to appear in court on Friday in connection with the drug charge, he added. It “is a close second to the army in terms of manpower and budget,” More recently, besides the production of opium, the “Thai stick” strain of marijuana became a staple of American drug culture in the 1970s, and methamphetamines have bedeviled Thailand for decades. Like more recent antidrug efforts [in the Philippines](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/02/world/asia/philippines-manila-duterte-market-three.html), the effort to clear the streets of illicit drugs devolved into a campaign of widespread extrajudicial killings. Panya likely to be “one of the people on the ground,” he said. Panya was set to go on trial on Friday, and the 9-milimeter pistol he used in the attack was legally owned, the police said. Earlier Thursday by the national police chief, General Damrongsak Kittipraphat, had said 37 people were killed, in addition to the gunman.

A horrific attack on a childcare centre in northern Thailand that has left dozens dead, prompted strong international condemnation on Thursday.

“No-one should be a target.” No child should be a target or witness of violence anywhere, anytime. “UNICEF condemns all forms of violence against children.

Nation in shock after 37 people, most of them children, were killed, while Thai media question why red flags weren't raised earlier.

In the afternoon, coffins bearing the bodies of the victims were taken to local families, to be handed over to relatives. Teachers had tried to lock the front door to keep him out, but he shot and kicked his way into the building. He had appeared in court earlier on Thursday on a drug charge and was due to appear again on Friday. According to local reports, a tablet costs 10 baht (£0.24) for wholesale, about the same as a bottle of water. Crowds gathered outside a local hospital to see the motorcade pass by. Afterwards, he met families of the victims and handed out compensation cheques.

The attacker then shot and killed his wife and their 4-year-old child before killing himself, according to officials. The toll in Thursday's massacre surpassed ...

[You can find all our puzzles here](https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords). [ racing to contain](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/01/world/africa/uganda-ebola-outbreak.html) an Ebola outbreak driven by a strain of the virus that is resistant to existing immunization shots. It also has some of the continent’s highest rates of gun homicide, [but mass shootings are rare](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/06/world/asia/thailand-worldwide-shooting-statistics.html). Still, the virus has spread to five districts. The death toll could be as high as 30, with 20 probable cases who succumbed to the virus before it could be identified. Two vaccine candidates could offer protection against the Sudanese strain, but they have yet to reach the clinical-trial phase, Dr. human rights agency over abuses targeting the Uyghur people and other Muslim minority groups in the Xinjiang region. The economic distress in poor countries is palpable, given the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, coupled with high food and energy prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. His statement appeared to open the floodgates, especially after the Kremlin did nothing in public to punish the Chechen leader. A common thread in the rising criticism has been that Russia’s military was unprepared for a real war. The official said Shoigu should consider killing himself because of the Russian Army’s failures in Ukraine. The attacker then shot and killed his wife and their 4-year-old child before killing himself, according to officials.

This violence is both senseless and heartbreaking. We stand with the people of Thailand and extend our deepest condolences to those who lost their loved ones ...

We are deeply saddened by the tragedy in Nong Bua Lam Phu Province, where a gunman took the lives of at least 38 people, including 24 children. We stand with the people of Thailand and extend our deepest condolences to those who lost their loved ones today. This violence is both senseless and heartbreaking.

At least 38 people, including 24 children, were killed in a gun and knife attack Thursday at a childcare center in northern Thailand. It was the country's ...

Mass shootings are rare in Thailand, but this is the second incident in less than three years that has resulted deaths. Images have since emerged online that show children and adults lying in pools of blood on the floor following the deadly attack. It's time for Thailand to wake up and realize that protecting its people means getting this situation under control rather than treating this as a 'one-off' incident that can be ignored," Robertson told VOA via email. rate of 120.5 per 100 people, according to a 2017 survey by Australia's GunPolicy.org nonprofit organization. We stand with the people of Thailand and extend our deepest condolences to those who lost their loved ones today. According to district official Jidapa Boonsom, the gunman had entered the nursery in Uthai Sawan town around lunchtime before shooting four or five staff, including a teacher who was eight months pregnant, before forcing his way into a locked room where children were sleeping and killing them, she told Reuters. But the number of those killed could have been more. "I feel deep sadness toward the victims and their relatives." In 2020, a solider of the Royal Thai army shot and killed 29 people and injured 58 more at a military camp and a shopping mall in Nakhon Ratchasima before being shot and killed by authorities. Thai people seek mental health help much more than before," he told VOA. The motive for the killings is unknown. “We are deeply saddened by the tragedy in Nong Bua Lam Phu province,” he said.

The attack in Nong Bua Lamphu Province, one of the country's poorest, was the worst mass shooting by a sole perpetrator in Thailand's history.

The king was expected to visit a hospital in the area in the evening. He was angered by a financial dispute with the family of his superior officer, according to the country’s then army chief. Saeksan Sriraj, the husband of a pregnant teacher who was killed in the attack, thanked people for their support in a Facebook post. Anutin said that the authorities were in the process of conducting an autopsy on the gunman to determine what, if any, substances were in his body during the time of the shooting. Thailand, with a population of about 70 million, had only 656 psychiatrists and 422 psychologists in the entire country, according to the W.H.O.’s Mental Health Atlas 2020. After visiting one of them, a 3-year-old, at Udon Thani Hospital, the minister said the boy was hooked up to a breathing tube and responsive despite suffering a skull fracture. Outside the day care center, he saw a man who appeared to be in his 40s and a young child lying in a pool of blood. That means the king will pay for the funerals of those killed and the medical expenses of the wounded. He decided to drive to the subdistrict office to check in on his friend. But it was unclear when he bought the firearm and whether he was using drugs at the time. A pregnant teacher whose husband said she was “doing her duty as teacher to the fullest capacity.” A young girl who liked to play pretend with her grandmother. Portraits of the victims, 24 of whom were young children, began to emerge, showing the magnitude of loss: A 3-year-old who loved racing toy cars and riding in real ones.

Pink and white coffins bearing the bodies of the 22 children killed in a gun and knife rampage in Thailand were loaded onto a truck late on Thursday.

"Nobody wants this to happen. will feel so depressed and saddened," Anutin said. - Pink and white coffins adorned with gold and bearing the bodies of the 22 children killed in a gun and knife rampage in Thailand were loaded onto a truck late on Thursday and driven away in the darkness.

Thailand in shock over deaths of children as young as two in mass stabbing and shooting at a nursery.

“I don’t know the motive for this incident. After I refused, she left my house politely,” he said. She described him as a quiet person and also polite. Panchum said she told her colleague to lock the doors. They were in all three rooms. Local medical staff said on Friday that 37 people had died, many of them children. She had recognised the attacker as a parent who had come to the school quite often to drop off his child. “The children were sleeping during the day. After scaling a wall to escape the school with another teacher and a cleaner, Panchum said she ran to get help as the sound of gunfire came from the school. The teachers were in rooms as well, including the pregnant teacher,” she said. But the gunman started to smash the glass as she fled to the back of the building and climbed a wall to escape the school compound. “But, I didn’t think he would do that to the children,” she said.

Thai government buildings flew flags at half mast on Friday to mourn the death of more than 30 people, including 23 children, after an ex-policeman burst ...

In the late afternoon, relatives wailed in pain as funerals were set to be held at Wat Rat Sammakhi. He had just got a new haircut and was proudly showing it off, said his aunt, Naliwan Duangket, 27. Abandoned juice boxes were scattered across the floor. Most of the children, aged between two and five, were slashed to death, while adults were shot, police said in the aftermath of one of the world's worst It was not clear if Panya still used drugs. One witness, Kittisak Polprakan, said he saw the attacker calmly walking out of the daycare centre - a pink, one-storey building surrounded by a lawn and small palm trees - after the massacre "as if he was just taking a normal stroll".

An ex-policeman killed 37 people, 23 of them children, at a nursery before killing himself and his family.

Police said the armed attacker broke into the building just after lunch time on Thursday, shooting his way past a teacher and parent outside. Thursday's attack comes less than a month after an army officer shot dead two of his colleagues at a base in Bangkok. He had been due to face a verdict on Friday. "I was at the factory [when] my friend asked me to check the news. On her phone are photos of Pattarawut, taken just hours before the shooting. His step-son used to attend the centre but hadn't been for the past month.

A disgraced former police officer killed more than 20 children at a daycare in Thailand.

"The attacker rammed a motorbike into two people who were injured. I sped off to get away from him," she said. I ran into the kitchen behind. The White House said the United States is "horrified" by the shooting, while UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he was shocked and saddened and expressed his condolences to the families of the victims. I thought he got inside. He said the attacker was in a manic state but it was unknown whether it was drug-related. "He used his feet to kick the window, then he shot at the door. He was also said to have argued with his wife after he supposedly had an affair, and was reported to have argued with a neighbour after having raucous house parties. "As far as I know he was due in court tomorrow for a drug-related trial," he said. "He was in the middle of reloading the gun – I held up my hands and begged for mercy," one of the teachers said. "He shot at the door while the children were sleeping," the second teacher said. "When he tried to barge in, I thought the kid that died was playing with a firecracker," the first teacher told Reuters.

Relatives grieving staggering loss Friday laid flowers at a day care center in rural northeastern Thailand where a fired police officer killed dozens of ...

In an interview with Amarin TV, Satita Boonsom, who worked at the day care center, said staff locked the door to the building after seeing the assailant shoot a child and his father out front. Witnesses said the attacker shot a man and child in front of the center before walking toward it. The mother died from her wounds, and the boy and grandmother were being treated at hospitals, according to local media. She said one child who was covered by a blanket survived the attack, apparently because the assailant assumed he was dead. "He came to do what he had in his mind and was determined to do it. By the time she returned, the children were dead. Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida were expected later in the day to visit hospitals, where seven of the 10 people who were wounded remain. Teachers locked the glass front door, but the gunman shot and kicked his way through it. Prime Minster Prayuth Chan-ocha was expected to visit the day care center and the hospitals. When asked whether he thought the center was secure enough, Seksan noted the attacker had been a police officer. They are running through my heart," said Seksan Sriraj, 28, who lost his pregnant wife due to give birth this month in the attack at the Young Children's Development Center in Uthai Sawan. At least 24 of the 36 people killed in the assault, Thailand's deadliest mass shooting, were children.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha visited the site on Friday. Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida were expected to go to hospitals, where seven ...

He had been due to appear in court on Friday. Some of them were still in their afternoon naps,” said 29-year-old Bangkok resident Chamita Itthiponwitoon. More than 4.7 million people had sent posts by Friday afternoon under a Thai hashtag that translated as #MassShootingNongBuaLamphu. They were small kids, they did not deserve this. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha visited the site on Friday. [Grief and anger have engulfed Thailand](/news/2022/10/7/the-children-were-sleeping-witness-to-thai-nursery-massacre) a day after the mass killing of children and adults at a preschool daycare centre by a former Thai police officer who went on a rampage of stabbing and shooting before he shot his wife, child, and himself.

An ex-policeman killed 37 people, 23 of them children as young as two, at a childcare centre. Police say the 34-year-old attacker - a local named Panya Kamrab - ...

Ceremonies set to begin in Uthai Sawan on Saturday afternoon while king says 'there are no words that can describe the sorrow'

“Cooking, buying ingredients, welcoming the guests – because I know the families will not be in the state of mind or have the time to do this.” “As the temple is the centre of the community, my role right now is to make people united,” he said. “It’s an Isan tradition, they bring the kids to the temple,” he said with red eyes. I know everybody is in a difficult place but they are united to get through it.” It was a tradition, local people said, to prevent the soul from straying and becoming lost. After the attacker left the nursery he drove his car towards and shot at bystanders, then returned home, where he shot his wife, child and himself.

Social media in the country was awash with grief and anger following the massacre, which saw 34 people killed - including 23 children.

Authorities identified the attacker as a former policemen discharged from the force last year after being caught with methamphetamines. They were small kids, they did not deserve this. "It's so heart-breaking.