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The drug addict policeman who slaughtered 35 people in a bloodthirsty rampage at a Thai nursery had arrived after court to pick up his son and became ‘stressed’ when he realised the boy wasn’t there, police have said.
Panya Khamrap, who later shot his son when he found him at home, killed 24 children in the horror massacre, forcing open a locked room decorated with animal pictures and cartoons to knife the sleeping youngsters to death.
Police said the 34-year-old, who had been kicked off the force earlier this year for possession of methamphetamine, appeared at court this morning on drugs charges before heading to the nursery to collect his child.
When he did not find his child there, he began the killing spree, police spokesperson Paisal Luesomboon said. ‘He started shooting, slashing, killing children at the Utai Sawan daycare centre,’ Paisal said.
He added: ‘He was already stressed and when he couldn’t find his child he got more stressed and started shooting.’
The killer, armed with a shotgun, a pistol and a meat cleaver, first shot dead multiple adults including an eight-months pregnant woman, before entering the children’s room.
He continued the attack in nearby streets, shooting at bystanders and trying to run over panicked pedestrians as he fled in a white van which he torched at his home before killing his wife and his son and turning the gun on himself.
Dozens of blood-soaked bodies were scattered across the floor and grounds of the nursery and lined the roads and buildings outside in what is the deadliest mass killing in the country’s history.
Rescuers carry a children’s coffin at the Thai nursery in Nong Bua Lamphu province where dozens were slaughtered today
Panya Khamrap (pictured) shot dead his wife and son at the end of his brutal rampage in Thailand
Among the dead are at least 24 children and multiple teachers after the brutal massacre carried out by a former policeman who then took his own life
Dozens of blood-soaked bodies were scattered across the floor and in the grounds outside the nursery
In total, 35 people have been killed. 24 bodies, including 19 boys, three girls and two adults were found at the nursery
The exterior of the children’s daycare centre is seen after the attack today where dozens were slaughtered
Thai police officers inspect the scene of a mass shooting at a childcare centre in Nong Bua Lamphu province, northeastern Thailand
The suspect has been named by police as Panya Khamrap (pictured) who was fired from the force last year after failing a drugs test
Grieving relatives weep after hearing the news of the brutal killings which saw dozens killed in Thailand
Local residents queue up to donate blood to the survivors after an appeal from the hospital
A manhunt was launched after the massacre at the nursery but police could only arrive to find the shooter and his family already dead at his home
A grief stricken woman is comforted on the floor outside the nursery in the wake of the bloodbath
The massacre occurred in Nong Bua Lamphu, in the northeast of the Southeast Asian country
Ruamkatanyu Foundation’s rescue workers load coffins containing the bodies of the dead children into a van
About 30 children were at the centre when the gunman arrived, fewer than usual, as heavy rain had kept many people away
In total, 35 people have been killed along with the shooter, including 24 children. 19 boys, three girls and two adults were found at the nursery. A further adult and young boy were killed outside the centre in a government office.
At the shooter’s house, one boy and four adults were found dead, and another adult at a nearby building was also killed. Three further adults were taken to hospital where they were pronounced dead, and 12 more are being treated for injuries.
Khamrap was fired from the force last year after failing a drugs test for methamphetamine, and he appeared in court today prior to the shootings. He was known to be a frequent drug addict and was once caught with 100 pills in his possession, and officers believe he may have been on drugs today.
Police spokesperson Paisan Luesomboon told broadcaster ThaiPBS the gunman had been at a court hearing in connection with a drug case earlier on Thursday and had gone to the daycare centre to find his child, but the child was not there.
‘He was already stressed and when he couldn’t find his child he was more stressed and started shooting,’ Paisan said.
A huge manhunt was launched after the massacre at the nursery but police could only arrive at the shooter’s home to find his burned-out pickup truck and his family already dead inside.
About 30 children were at the centre when the gunman arrived, fewer than usual, as heavy rain had kept many people away, district official Jidapa Boonsom, who was working in a nearby office at the time, told Reuters.
The man first shot four or five staff, including a teacher who was eight months pregnant, Jidapa said.
‘At first people thought it was fireworks,’ she added.
‘It’s really shocking. We were very scared and running to hide once we knew it was shooting. So many children got killed, I’ve never seen anything like it.’
The gunman escaped in a white four-door Vigo pickup truck and the bumper fell off as he fled.
A teacher who survived the massacre at a nursery in Thailand told how the killer pointed the gun at her head but she climbed over a wall to escape.
She said: ‘I knew it was a gun because I heard multiple gunshots, and then I saw him put in the bullets and point the gun at me.
‘I called the teacher, and the teacher was hugging the child. He kicked the mirror and I climbed the walls and asked for help.
‘He was inside the child centre for a long time. He used a knife and cut all the kids’ heads. He was carrying a small gun.
He escaped in a white four-door Vigo pickup truck and the bumper fell off as he fled
The prime minister alerted all agencies to take action and apprehend the culprit (pictured)
A witness (pictured) said she heard multiple gunshots and saw the gunman kill her colleagues
Medical staff carry out a victim on a stretcher from an ambulance at the hospital in Nong Bua Lam Phu
A distraught woman is led away from the site of an attack at the daycare centre
‘I didn’t know he was going to kill the kids. I thought he was gonna come out but he stayed inside a long time. He used a knife and stabbed all the kids.
‘He also stabbed a pregnant teacher. Only few months til she gives birth. He stabbed my staff. That’s all I know.
Eyewitness Paweena Purichan, 31, was riding her motorcycle to her shop when she encountered the fleeing Panya driving erratically.
‘He intended to crash into others on the road,’ she told AFP.
‘The attacker rammed a motorbike and two people were injured. I sped off to get away from him.’
‘There was blood everywhere.’
Paweena said the attacker was well known in the area as a drug addict.
Panya was dismissed from the police force in January after being arrested for possession of pills known as Ya Ba containing meth and caffeine, and he had been previously reprimanded for repeated drug use.
He joined the Royal Thai Police in May 2012 and was moved to Na Wang in 2019 where he worked until his dismissal.
Former colleagues say he had frequent mood swings and was often shunned at work.
According to The Nation Thailand, he once drew his pistol at a bank manager who had complained after finding the officer asleep in a police car parked outside the bank when he was meant to be on guard while banknotes were being stocked.
Last year, he also had heated arguments with his wife over his alleged affair with a karaoke worker whose ex-boyfriend was a drug dealer.
The officer also verbally and physically assaulted a neighbour who confronted him about his noisy house parties.
People gather outside the daycare centre after the mass shooting in the town of Uthai Sawan
A pair of relatives comfort each other after the horrific massacre with children as young as two among the dead
Frantic family members wept and watched outside the nursery school building
Thailand forms part of Southeast Asia’s so-called Golden Triangle which has long been an infamous hotspot for the trafficking and abuse of drugs.
Surging supplies of methamphetamine have sent street prices crashing in Thailand to all-time lows, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
The prime minister had alerted all agencies to take action and apprehend the culprit, a government spokesperson said, before they found his dead body.
PM Prayuth Chan-ocha said it was a shocking incident and sent condolences to the families of the victims.
He said: ‘Concerning this horrifying incident… I would like to express my deepest sorrow and condolences to the families of the dead and injured.’
Police Major General Achayon Kraithong said the shooting happened in the town of Nongbua Lamphu early in the afternoon.
People stand around at the nursery in shellshock after the horrific killings
Khamrap was allegedly fired from the force after failing a drugs test, and was due in court tomorrow
National Police Chief Damrongsak Kittiprapat speaks with his police operation team after the attack
The mass killing comes less than a month after a serving army officer shot dead two colleagues at a military training base in the capital Bangkok.
While Thailand has high rates of gun ownership, mass shootings are extremely rare.
Official figures do not include huge numbers of illegal weapons, many of which have been brought in across porous borders over the years from strife-torn neighbours.
But in the past year, there have been at least two other cases of shooting murders by serving soldiers, according to the Bangkok Post.
In 2020, in one of the kingdom’s deadliest incidents in recent years, a soldier gunned down 29 people in a 17-hour rampage and wounded scores more before he was shot dead by commandos.
That mass shooting, linked to a debt dispute between gunman Sergeant-Major Jakrapanth Thomma and a senior officer, triggered public anger against the military.
The soldier was able to steal assault rifles from an army depot before embarking on his killing spree, posting live updates on social media as he did so.
Military top brass were at pains to portray the killer as a rogue soldier.
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