Bangkok: A former police officer facing a drug charge burst into a day care centre in Thailand last week, killing dozens of pre-schoolers and teachers and then shooting more people as he fled. At least 38 people were killed in the deadliest rampage in the nation’s history. The assailant, who was fired earlier this year, took his own life after killing his wife and child at home.
Photos taken by first responders showed the floor of Child Development Centre Uthaisawan littered with the bodies of children still in their blankets, where they had been taking an afternoon nap. The images showed slashes to their faces and gunshots to their heads and pools of blood.
A teacher told a Thai broadcaster that the assailant got out of a car and immediately shot a man eating lunch outside, then fired more shots. When the attacker paused to reload, the teacher had an opportunity to run inside. “I ran to the back, the children were asleep,” said the young woman, who did not give her name, choking back her words. “The children were two or three years old.”
The attack took place in the rural town of Nongbua Lamphu in northeastern Thailand, in one of the country's poorest regions. Another witness said staff at the day care had locked the door, but the suspect shot his way in. “The teacher who died had a child in her arms,” said a witness. “I didn’t think he would kill children, but he shot at the door and shot right through it. ”
At least 10 people were wounded, including six critically, police spokesman Archayon Kraithong said. A video taken by a first responder arriving at the scene showed rescuers rushing into the single-story building past a shattered glass front door, with drops of blood visible on the ground in the entryway. In footage posted online after the attack, frantic family members could be heard weeping outside the building.
