Thailand Mourns Children, Staff Killed in One of World’s Deadliest Massacres

The body of the shooter Panya Khamrap inside a body bag at Na Klang Hospital following a rampage in the town of Uthai Sawan in the province of Nong Bua Lam Phu, Thailand, on Oct. 6, 2022. Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters

Flags were flown half-staff across Thailand on Friday following the country’s deadliest massacre that left at least 38 people dead, most of whom were young children.

The death toll includes the attacker, his wife, and his child—both of whom he killed after the shooting in the daycare center in Uthai Sawan, a town 500 kilometers (310 miles) northeast of Bangkok, on Oct. 6.

Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn, Queen Suthida, and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha visited survivors and the families of the shooting attack victims in the northeastern Nong Bua Lamphu province on Friday.

“I would like to express my deepest condolences to the families of the lost and injured. I have ordered the police to take immediate legal action and all involved parties to provide recovery to those affected,” Prayut said in a Facebook post.

Police identified Panya Kamrab, a 34-year-old former policeman, as the attacker. Panya was suspended last year over drug allegations and was facing trial for illegal possession of amphetamine, ThaiPBS reported.

He attended a court hearing before heading to the daycare center to collect his child, police said. When he did not find his child there, he started shooting and slashing children while they were sleeping at the center.

A total of 24 children aged from 2 to 5 years were killed at the center, while one child who was shot in the head survived after undergoing a surgery. A pregnant teacher was among those who were killed, according to local reports.

Panya eventually fled the scene in a pick-up truck and killed his wife and child at home before committing suicide. Twelve other people were injured in the attack, police said.

Officials and authorities guard the gate of a daycare center as people wait, after a rampage in Uthai Sawan, Nong Bua Lamphu Province, Thailand, on Oct. 6, 2022, in this screengrab taken from video. TPBS/Reuters TV via Reuters

People gather outside of a day care center's scene of rampage in the town of Uthai Sawan, 500 kilometers (310 miles) northeast of Bangkok in the Province of Nong Bua Lamphu, Thailand, on Oct. 6, 2022. Sakdipat Boonsom/Handout via Reuters

The government has pledged to cover the funeral costs of all the victims who died in the attack. It will also provide 100,000 baht ($2,675) to victims who were critically injured or permanently disabled because of the incident, ThaiPBS reported.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said that it was “saddened and shocked” by the tragic shooting, while urging members of the public and the media to refrain from posting images and videos of the tragedy.

“UNICEF condemns all forms of violence against children. No child should be a target or witness of violence anywhere, anytime,” it said in a statement.

“We join all people in Thailand in mourning and hope that those affected receive appropriate and timely support,” UNICEF added.

The massacre is among the worst involving children killed by one person. Anders Breivik killed 69 people, mostly teenagers, at a summer camp in Norway in 2011, while the death toll in other cases include 20 children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut in 2012, 16 at Dunblane in Scotland in 1996, and 19 at a school in Uvalde, Texas, this year.

Reuters contributed to this report.