Children and adults are among the victims, according to authorities, who added that the shooter was a former police officer who appeared in court on a narcotics charge before the attack.
At least 30 people have been slain by a fired police officer in a mass shooting at a Thai daycare center.
The victims included 22 toddlers, some as young as two years old, in addition to adults, according to the authorities.
Police initiated a manhunt for the culprit, identified as 34-year-old Panya Khamrap, who fled the scene while firing and driving his vehicle toward bystanders.
Officials later said that the shooter committed suicide after killing his wife and child.
It is the nation’s bloodiest mass shooting in history.
At least a dozen others were hurt in the incident, which occurred in the town of Uthai Sawan in the province of Nong Bua Lamphu’s northeastern region.
Armed with a revolver, shotgun, and knife, the assailant started the fire on the center around lunchtime after forcing his way inside.
Using a knife, he forced his way into a locked room containing sleeping children, according to district official Jidapa Boonsom, to continue his assault.
She stated that there were approximately 30 youngsters in the building at the time.
The assailant opened fire on four or five staff members, including a pregnant teacher, before turning his attention to the sleeping children.
“Initially, everyone believed it to be fireworks,” she added.
Social media videos depicted emergency personnel at the scene and sheets covering what seemed to be the bodies of youngsters.
Outside the premises, officials including police officers and paramedics could be observed along with the weeping of distraught family members.
A witness told Thailand’s Kom Chad Leuk television that when they spotted the suspect approaching with a revolver, they closed the building’s entrance, but he shot through it.
The woman stated that a teacher was slain while holding a youngster.
She stated, “I didn’t believe he would kill children, but he shot at the door and went right through it.”
According to district police chief Chakkraphat Wichitvaidya, the assailant was discharged from the police force for failing a drug test a year ago.
He was awaiting trial and had been in court hours before the rampage on a drug charge; he appeared upset upon his arrival at the children’s center.
Last observed driving a white pickup truck with Bangkok license plates.
The assailant returned to his home and murdered his wife and child before committing suicide.
In the center, 19 boys, 3 girls, and 2 adults were killed, while 12 individuals, including two youngsters, were killed outdoors. Police said this includes the gunman, his wife, and their son.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha referred to the attack as a shocking occurrence and issued a call to action to all government agencies.
In 2020, a dissatisfied soldier opened fire in and around a retail center in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand’s northeastern metropolis, killing 29 people.
