In northeast Thailand, a daycare center was the scene of a horrific shooting that left dozens of people dead, according to authorities there.
According to Thai news outlet Khaosod Online, a gunman invaded a daycare center in Nong Bua Lamphu province’s Na Klang district, opened fire and murdering many people before leaving.
At around 8 p.m. According to the BBC and Bloomberg, officials had put the death toll at 38 as of noon local time.
According to a spokeswoman for a regional public affairs office, 23 of the dead were children, along with two teachers and one police officer.
According to Reuters, victims are as young as two years old, according to local police superintendent Chakkraphat Wichitvaidya.
The shooter, who was recently fired from the force, was a police officer, the BBC reports. According to Thai authorities, the man shot and stabbed both children and adults throughout the attack.
According to Khaosod Online, the gunman fled the area in a white pickup truck.
Police issued a wanted poster with a man’s face that matched reports identifying him as Panya Kamrab, the former cop.
Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha called the incident “shocking” in a statement posted to Facebook and urged all agencies to swiftly aid the victims.
Mass shootings are uncommon in Thailand, where illegally having a handgun can result in a prison sentence of up to ten years. They are, nevertheless, not unheard of. A angry soldier went on a 16-hour shooting spree in 2020, killing 29 people.