Northeastern The province of Nong Bua Lamphu is home to the Thai town of Uthai Sawan. 34 people were killed there in a mass shooting on Thursday, according to a police official.
The perpetrator reportedly ran away from the scene of the crime, returned home, murdered his wife and child, and then killed himself, according to the Daily News newspaper.
In a statement, the police noted that the victims included both children and adults and added that the shooter had previously worked as a police officer.
A local police source said on Thursday that children made up 23 of the 34 fatalities. At least 12 other people have also been harmed, the official told Reuters.
According to a regional public affairs office official, 23 children, two instructors, and one police officer were among those slain.
A teacher who was eight months pregnant was one of the four or five employees at the daycare centre who were shot first, according to district official Jidapa Boonsom, who was working in an office pass by.
She claimed that at first they thought it was fireworks.
Jidapa asserted that the shooter then broke into a closed room where children were sleeping and killed them all with a knife.
According to sources in Thai media, the attacker, who apparently also used knives in the attack, subsequently fled the scene.
The attacker was revealed to be a retired police lieutenant colonel from the area by several media outlets. According to district police official Chakkraphat Wichitvaidya, he was let out of the force last year due to drug-related issues.
Compared to several other nations in the region, Thailand has a high percentage of gun ownership, but official statistics do not account for a significant number of illegal firearms, many of which have been imported over the years from war-torn neighbours across porous borders.
Mass shootings are uncommon, but in 2020, a soldier went on a four-location rampage that left at least 29 people dead and 57 injured after becoming enraged over a property deal gone bad.
