□Chutian Metropolis Daily Jimu News reporter Li Manying
Comprehensive BBC, Archyde.com, “The Independent” reported that the death toll in a shooting incident at a nursery in northeastern Thailand on October 6 has increased to 38, and most of the victims were children.
The killer, a former police officer who was fired in June for drug use, is also the father of a child in the daycare. On the day of the incident, he appeared in court for drug-related charges in the morning, and then went to the nursery to pick up the child. After finding that the child was away, he became emotional and attacked the staff and children indiscriminately with guns and knives. He then fled to his home and, following killing his wife and children, shot himself.
The murderer was a local policeman
According to police, the shooter has been identified as 34-year-old Panya Kamrab.
Kamrab, a former local police officer, was suspended in January for drug use and fired in June. On the morning of October 6, local time, he was charged with drug use and sale.
At 12:30 noon on October 6, Kamrabu, armed with a shotgun, a pistol and a knife, rushed into the nursery, attacked staff and children indiscriminately with knives and guns, and then drove a white four-door Toyota pickup with a Bangkok license plate. The car fled the scene. In the meantime, he also drove his car into bystanders and shot some of them, injuring several others.
Police Chief Damron Sakkiti Prapat said that following the murderer returned home following committing the crime, the police surrounded the house and found that he had shot himself following killing his wife and children at home.
23 children killed in attack
Witnesses at the nursery told the media what happened. Principal Nanticha Panchum introduced that the nursery normally has 92 children, but due to the breakdown of the bus and the rain, there were only 24 children at the scene when the attack occurred. They were taking a nap at the time, and only one of them was a child. survive the attack.
A teacher identified the killer as the father of a child at the nursery. She said the murderer had dealt with herself before and never felt uncomfortable, adding that he was always polite and very talkative when dropping his son off the bus. However, his child had not been to the nursery for a month, and when he saw the father once more that day, he looked very dull and became very emotional when he was told his child was not at the centre.
The principal, Nanticha, told AFP that the killer first shot and killed four staff members, including a teacher who was eight months pregnant. When other teachers heard the “firecrackers” and found a colleague lying on the ground, they quickly locked the door of the child’s room and tried to climb over the wall to seek help. However, the killer “kicked the door with his leg and then came in” and began killing children who were taking a nap with a knife, including a 2-year-old who was killed in his sleep.
One teacher who managed to escape described the knife as “like a lawn mower – it’s curved”.
Another witness said that the killer fled following committing the crime and tried to crash into other drivers. “The attacker hit a motorcycle. Two people were injured and there was blood everywhere.”
The motive for the murder is not yet clear
This incident made the Thai people extremely shocked and angry. Shortly following the incident, many Thais forwarded relevant information on social networks, praying for the dead and injured, and called for attention to the blood donation needs related to the treatment of the injured released by the hospital. Provide help to the injured.
According to police, the gun used by the killer was previously obtained legally. It is understood that Thailand’s gun laws are very strict, and possession of illegal firearms can be punished by up to 10 years in prison. The country has a high rate of gun ownership compared to some other countries in the region. The number of gun-related deaths in Thailand is lower than in countries such as the United States and Brazil, but higher than in countries with strict gun control laws such as Japan and Singapore. The last serious mass shooting in the country was carried out by a soldier who opened fire in and around a mall in the northeastern city of Nakhon Ratchasima in 2020, killing 29 people and eventually by security forces.
According to the police, at present, the motive of the murderer is not yet clear, and the case is still under further investigation.
