□ Chutian Metropolis Daily Jimu News reporter Li Manying
Comprehensive BBC, Reuters, “The Independent” reported that the death toll from a kindergarten shooting in northeastern Thailand on 6 October rose to 38 and most of the fatalities were children.
The killer, a former policeman fired in June for drug use, is also the father of a child in kindergarten. On the day of the incident, he appeared in court in the morning for drug offenses, then went to the kindergarten to pick up the baby. Upon discovering that the child was absent, he became excited and indiscriminately assaulted the staff and the children. with guns and knives. Then he fled to his house and, after killing his wife and children, shot himself.
The killer was a local policeman
According to the police, the killer was identified as Panya Kamrab, 34.
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 trafficking.
At 12:30 on October 6, Kamrabu, armed with a rifle, pistol and knife, rushed into the nursery, indiscriminately assaulted staff and children with knives and guns, then drove a white four-door Toyota pickup truck with a Bangkok license plate L ‘ car escaped from the scene. Meanwhile, he also drove his own car into bystanders and shot some of them, injuring many others.
Police Chief Damron Sakkiti Prapat said that after the killer returned home after committing the crime, police surrounded the house and found that he had shot himself after killing his wife and children at home.
23 children killed in the attack
Witnesses from the asylum told the media what happened. Principal Nanticha Panchum said the kindergarten normally has 92 children, but due to the bus breakdown and 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 baby, survive the attack.
A teacher identified the killer as the father of a kindergarten child. She said the killer had dealt with herself before and never felt uncomfortable, adding that he was always polite and very talkative when he left his her son off the bus. However, his son had not been in kindergarten for a month, and when he saw his father that day, he seemed very dull and was very excited when he was told that his son was not in the center.
The principal, Nanticha, told AFP that the killer first shot and killed four staff members, including an eight-month pregnant teacher. When other teachers heard the “firecrackers” and found a colleague lying on the floor, they quickly locked the door to the child’s room and tried to climb over the wall for help. However, the killer “kicked the door with his leg and then walked in” and started killing children who were napping 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 the killer fled after 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 still unclear
This incident made the Thai people extremely shocked and angry. Shortly after the incident, many Thais relayed relevant information on social networks, praying for the dead and injured, and called attention to blood donation needs related to the treatment of the wounded released from hospital Providing help to the injured.
According to the police, the gun used by the killer had previously been obtained legally. It is understood that Thai gun laws are very strict and illegal possession of firearms can be punished up to 10 years in prison. The country has a high gun ownership rate compared to other countries in the region. The number of gun deaths in Thailand is lower than in countries like the United States and Brazil, but higher than in countries with strict gun control laws like Japan and Singapore. The latest serious mass shooting in the country was carried out by a soldier who opened fire in and around a shopping mall in the northeastern city of Nakhon Ratchasima in 2020, killing 29 people and ultimately by security forces.
According to the police, at the moment, the motive for the murderer is still unclear and the case is still under further investigation.
