At Least 37 Dead After Former Police Officer Opens Fire At Daycare Center

Accident or crime scene cordon tape

Photo: Getty Images

At least 37 people, including 24 children, were killed after a former police officer opened fire at a daycare center in Thailand on Thursday (October 7), according to local authorities via the Associated Press.

The suspected shooter, identified by police as Panya Khamrab, drove into people and shot bystanders while fleeing the scene in the Uthai Sawan district before arriving at his home and killing his wife and child, police confirmed via NBC News.

Khamrab, who was fired from the police last year and had appeared in court on drug charges earlier in the day, was listed among the individuals listed as having died in the attack, according to Col. Jackrapat Wijitwaitaya, the officer in charge of the case.

At least 12 wounded individuals -- including eight reported to have serious injuries -- received medical treatment, according to the office of Police Gen. Surachete Hakparn.

Police initially identified at least 19 boys and three girls as casualties in the attack, NBC News reported.

Khamrab is reported to have entered the daycare center at lunchtime and opened fire with about 30 children present in the area, local official Jidapa Boonsom told Reuters.

Images shared online -- which hadn't been verified by NBC News -- reportedly showed children's bodies lying in what appears to be a classroom.

Police urged others not to continue sharing the graphic photos and images taken from the scene online.


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