Thailand: 22 Children Among 35 Killed In Child Care Centre Shooting. Gunman Kills Family And Self

Thailand Mass Shooting: At least 31 people were killed in a mass shooting at a children's day-care centre in a northeastern province of Thailand

This handout from the Facebook page of Thailand's Central Investigation Bureau shows a picture of former policeman Panya Khamrab, who is believed to have killed at least 30 people in a nursery in the northern Thai province of Nong Bua Lam Phu. ( Image Source :AFP )

New Delhi: At least 34 people were killed in a mass shooting at a children's day-care centre in a northeastern province of Thailand. The victims included 22 children, news agency AFP reported citing a police spokesperson. Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha has ordered an urgent probe into the "horrifying" nursery mass shooting.

The attacker, armed with a shotgun, a pistol and a knife, opened fire on the childcare centre in Nong Bua Lam Phu province before fleeing the scene in a pickup truck, AFP quoted police colonel Jakkapat Vijitraithaya as saying.

Thai media reports said that the gunman also used knives in the attack and then fled the building.

The man first shot four or five staff, including a teacher who was eight months pregnant. The Daily News newspaper reported that the assailant then returned to his home and killed himself along with his wife and child.

The gunman has been identified as Panya Khamrab, 34. He was dismissed from the police force last year for drug use.

After fleeing from the daycare centre, he continued to shoot from his car, hitting several people, police Maj. Gen. Paisal Luesomboon told The Associated Press.

Videos posted on social media showed sheets covering the bodies of children lying in pools of blood at the centre in the town of Uthai Sawan.

Mass shootings are rare in Thailand, however, the rate of gun ownership is high compared with some other countries in the region.

Last month, a clerk shot co-workers at Thailand's Army War College in Bangkok, killing two and wounding another before he was arrested.

In 2020, a disgruntled soldier opened fire in and around a mall in the northeastern city of Nakhon Ratchasima, killing 29 people and holding off security forces for about 16 hours before eventually being killed by them.

(With Agency Inputs)