Thai king and queen visit relatives of nursery gun massacre after families wept and broke down beside coffins carrying the 36 victims
- King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida made journey from Bangkok to rural northern nursery site
- The visit is a rare recent public outing for a monarch officially regarded by his subjects as semi-divine
- Around 50 supporters, some in the king’s official yellow, waited outside the hospital ahead of the visit
Thailand‘s King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida visited the families of victims in the horrific nursery massacre in which 37 children and adults were shot dead in an attack that has shocked the world.
They also visited the hospital in rural northern Thailand where some shooting victims are recovering from their wounds.
Everyone attending the king’s visit was ordered to sit below him, with victims’ families and officials lying on the floor to follow the rules.
The trip is a rare recent public outing for a monarch officially regarded as semi-divine but who came in for unprecedented criticism during street protests in 2020.
Around 50 royalist supporters, some wearing the king’s official colour yellow, waited outside the hospital ahead of the monarch’s visit.
Thailand’s king and queen are pictured meeting the families of victims in the horror nursery attack in the nation’s north
King Maha Vajiralongkorn (centre) and Queen Suthida (to his left) meet the public outside Bangkok’s Grand Palace in 2020
‘I’m one of the Thais that love our country and love the monarchy,’ said 61-year-old Sodsri Yangyuen.
‘The king has shown the utmost sympathy to the Nong Bua Lamphu people and the children killed in the attack by coming here. I just feel so grateful that he’s coming to see the Nong Bua Lamphu people.’
Kesininat Amatratana, 63, said she came to show her gratitude to the king for supporting the community.
‘If I don’t come here then I won’t be able to live with myself. I’m grateful for his care for the people,’ she said.
One three-year-old girl miraculously survived Thursday’s killings by sleeping with a blanket over her head while her classmates were slaughtered.
Nong Am was in the nap room with other children when former policeman Panya Khamrab, 34, burst in.
Amazingly, the youngster remained in a deep sleep with the blanket pulled up over her head. While the other youngsters panicked – and were slayed by the attacker – he appeared not to notice the sleeping girl and she made it through unscathed following the carnage.
A wreath sits by the entrance of the daycare centre, where a disgraced ex-policeman stormed in and shot dozens of children
Her story emerged as pictures of the innocent victims of Khamrab’s rampage began to be released, including a heartbreaking image of two murdered twins and an eight-month-pregnant teacher. Weerapat and Weeraphon Nuatkao, both three years old, and teacher Supaporn Pramongmuk were all among those killed in the massacre.
Her husband posted a poignant tribute on Facebook. ‘I would like to thank all the support for me and my family. My wife has fulfilled her every duty as a teacher,’ husband Seksan Srirach wrote. ‘Please be a teacher in heaven, and my child please take care of your mother in heaven.’
Pictures have also emerged of children playing in happier times at the Thai nursery, just months before it was targeted in the senseless attack. The youngsters are seen playing with teachers in brown uniforms and having them flowers in a religious ceremony in March this year.
Survivor Nong Am’s uncle Wutthichai Baothong thanked the teachers at the school for helping to protect her. He said she was the only youngster in the classroom to survive the rampage. He said: ‘It is a miracle from God that saved my niece’s life. Brothers and sisters, out of 30, she was the only one to survive.’
Nong Am spent yesterday being comforted by her relatives – seemingly unaware of the chaos that had unfolded earlier in the afternoon in Nong But Lamphu, northern Thailand.
On Friday, the Thai King and Queen will visit the government-run childcare centre to comfort grieving relatives who are still coming to terms with the worst massacre in the country’s history.
Nong Am (pictured sitting on the floor) was in the nap room with other children when former policeman Panya Khamrab, 34, burst in firing a gun killing teachers and pupils on Thursday afternoon in an attack that has shocked the world
Her story emerged as pictures of the innocent victims of Khamrab’s rampage began to be released, including a heartbreaking image of two murdered twins (pictured). Weerapat and Weeraphon Nuatkao were both three years old
Eight-month-pregnant teacher Supaporn Pramongmuk (pictured left)) was also among the victims of the massacre
Picutred: Eight-month-pregnant teacher Supaporn Pramongmuk (left and right-middle) who was killed in the nursery massacre on Thursday afternoon in Thailand
Panya Khamrab (pictured right) shot dead his wife and son at the end of his brutal rampage in Thailand
Pictures have emerged of children playing in happier times at the Thai nursery, just months before it was targeted in the senseless attack (pictured). The youngsters are seen playing with teachers in brown uniforms and having them flowers in a religious ceremony in March this year
Weeping, grief-stricken families gathered Friday outside a Thai nursery.
Around the small low-slung building, where only two days ago scores of preschool children played, officials in white uniforms laid a large floral wreath on behalf of the king.
A line of heartbroken parents placed white roses on the steps of the nursery. Buarai Tanontong’s two three-year-old grandsons were among those killed at the nursery when the attacker burst through the door. ‘I couldn’t sleep. I didn’t think that it would be my two grandsons,’ she said, clutching her inconsolable daughter’s shoulder.
Photographs taken at the daycare centre by the rescue team and shared with Reuters showed the tiny bodies of those killed laid out on blankets. Abandoned juice boxes were scattered across the floor.
‘He was heading towards me and I begged him for mercy, I didn’t know what to do,’ one distraught woman told ThaiPBS, fighting back tears. ‘He didn’t say anything, he shot at the door while the kids were sleeping,’ another woman said, becoming distraught.
The aunt of a three-year old boy who died in the slaughter held a stuffed dog and a toy tractor in her lap as she recounted how she had rushed to the scene when the news first spread.
‘I came and I saw two bodies in front of the school and I immediately knew that my kid was already dead,’ said Suwimon Sudfanpitak, 40, who had been looking after her nephew, Techin, while his parents worked in Bangkok.
Also among the dead, was Kritsana Sola, a chubby cheeked two-year-old who loved dinosaurs and football and was nicknamed ‘captain’. He had just got a new haircut and was proudly showing it off, said his aunt, Naliwan Duangket, 27.
Armed with a 9mm pistol and a knife, Khamrab opened fire on the childcare centre. Following the attack, he fled the scene in a pickup truck to head home and murder his wife and son before taking his own life, police said, ending the killing spree around 3:00 pm.
In total, he killed 24 children – 21 boys and three girls – and 13 adults.
A red carpet was installed around the nursery by before the royal wreath was laid, and later removed. Social media users expressed criticism about the laying of a ceremonial carpet at a crime scene. Flags on government buildings flew at half-mast on Friday in a gesture of mourning for one of the deadliest days in recent Thai history.
Nanthicha Punchum, acting chief of the nursery, described harrowing scenes as the attacker barged into the building in the rural Na Klang district. ‘There were some staff eating lunch outside the nursery and the attacker parked his car and shot four of them dead,’ she told AFP news agency.
She said the attacker smashed down the door with his leg and then started stabbing the children.
Relatives mourn during a ceremony for those killed in the attack on the Young Children’s Development Center in the rural town of Uthai Sawan, north eastern Thailand, Friday, Oct. 7, 2022
White flowers are seen at a crime scene after a mass shooting by a former policeman at a children care center in Nong Bua Lamphu province, northeastern Thailand
Relatives gather outside the nursery, where a former police officer killed at least 37 people in a mass shooting, in Thailand’s northeastern Nong Bua Lam Phu province on October 7, 2022
hai officers lay flowers to mourn for the deceased, at a crime scene after a mass shooting by a former policeman at a children care center in Nong Bua Lamphu province, northeastern Thailand
Officials prepare a red carpet ahead of the arrival of Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn in the northeastern Nong Bua Lam Phu province on October 7, 2022. Social media users criticised the laying of a ceremonial carpet at a crime scene
: Buddhist monks donate blood for the victims on October 07, 2022 in Nong Bua Lamphu, Thailand
A child sits next to the mother of a victim as she cries outside the nursery, where a former police officer killed at least 37 people in a mass shooting, in Thailand’s northeastern Nong Bua Lam Phu province on October 7, 2022
National Police Chief Damrongsak Kittiprapat told reporters that Panya, a former police sergeant, had been kicked off the force earlier this year. Reports said this was for possession of methamphetamine. He appeared at court on Thursday morning on drugs charges before heading to the nursery to collect his child.
When he did not find his child there, he began the killing spree, police spokesperson Paisal Luesomboon said. ‘He started shooting, slashing, killing children at the Uthai Sawan daycare centre,’ Paisal said. He added: ‘He was already stressed and when he couldn’t find his child he got more stressed and started shooting.’
Kittiprapat said the attacker – who used a legally purchased pistol – was in a manic state but it was unknown whether it was drug-related.
Witness Paweena Purichan, 31, said the attacker was well-known in the area as a drug addict.
She told AFP she encountered Panya driving erratically as he fled the scene. ‘The attacker rammed a motorbike into two people who were injured. I sped off to get away from him,’ she said. ‘There was blood everywhere.’
Chakkraphat Wichitvaidya, a local police official, told Reuters autopsies showed the children had been slashed with a large knife, sometimes multiple times, and adults shot.
He said police were investigating the motive, while suspecting that Panya could have been triggered by stress.
‘I don’t know (why he did this), but he was under a lot of pressure,’ Panya’s mother told Nation TV, citing debts her son had run up and his drug taking.
Thai PM Prayut has ordered a rapid probe into the attack, and on Friday police interviewed witnesses and families.
News of Nong Am’s miraculous escape came after the coffins of dozens of Thai children and teachers were pictured being carried to a hospital morgue. Emergency services and rescue workers were seen carrying coffins containing the bodies of victims at Udon Thani hospital in Udon Thani province.
Coffins of dozens of Thai children and teachers slaughtered by an ex-police officer were pictured being carried to a hospital morgue
Rescue workers arrange coffins containing the body of victims at Song Serm Tham Foundation after transfer from Udon Thani hospital in Udon Thani province
The killer, armed with a shotgun, a pistol and a meat cleaver, first shot dead multiple adults including an eight-months pregnant woman, before entering the children’s room
The scene at the daycare centre hours after the horrific massacre where dozens were killed
Rescue workers carry the body of shooter Panya Khamrab in a bodybag in the town of Uthai Sawan
Among the dead are at least 24 children and multiple teachers after the brutal massacre carried out by a former policeman who then took his own life
Dozens of blood-soaked bodies were scattered across the floor and in the grounds outside the nursery
In total, 37 people have been killed. 24 bodies, including 19 boys, three girls and two adults were found at the nursery
Thai police officers inspect the scene of a mass shooting at a childcare centre in Nong Bua Lamphu province, northeastern Thailand
The suspect has been named by police as Panya Khamrap (pictured) who was fired from the force last year after failing a drugs test
Local residents queue up to donate blood to the survivors after an appeal from the hospital
The massacre occurred in Nong Bua Lamphu, in the northeast of the Southeast Asian country
About 30 children were at the centre when the gunman arrived, fewer than usual, as heavy rain had kept many people away, district official Jidapa Boonsom, who was working in a nearby office at the time, told Reuters.
The man first shot four or five staff, including a teacher who was eight months pregnant, Jidapa said.
‘At first people thought it was fireworks,’ she added.
‘It’s really shocking. We were very scared and running to hide once we knew it was shooting. So many children got killed, I’ve never seen anything like it.’
The gunman escaped in a white four-door Vigo pickup truck and the bumper fell off as he fled.
A teacher who survived the massacre at a nursery in Thailand told how the killer pointed the gun at her head but she climbed over a wall to escape.
She said: ‘I knew it was a gun because I heard multiple gunshots, and then I saw him put in the bullets and point the gun at me.
‘I called the teacher, and the teacher was hugging the child. He kicked the mirror and I climbed the walls and asked for help.
‘He was inside the child centre for a long time. He used a knife and cut all the kids’ heads. He was carrying a small gun.
About 30 children were at the centre when the gunman arrived, fewer than usual, as heavy rain had kept many people away
A grief stricken woman is comforted on the floor outside the nursery in the wake of the bloodbath
He escaped in a white four-door Vigo pickup truck and the bumper fell off as he fled
The prime minister alerted all agencies to take action and apprehend the culprit (pictured)
A witness (pictured) said she heard multiple gunshots and saw the gunman kill her colleagues
Medical staff carry out a victim on a stretcher from an ambulance at the hospital in Nong Bua Lam Phu
A distraught woman is led away from the site of an attack at the daycare centre
‘I didn’t know he was going to kill the kids. I thought he was gonna come out but he stayed inside a long time. He used a knife and stabbed all the kids.
‘He also stabbed a pregnant teacher. Only few months til she gives birth. He stabbed my staff. That’s all I know.
Eyewitness Paweena Purichan, 31, was riding her motorcycle to her shop when she encountered the fleeing Panya driving erratically.
‘He intended to crash into others on the road,’ she told AFP.
‘The attacker rammed a motorbike and two people were injured. I sped off to get away from him.’
‘There was blood everywhere.’
Paweena said the attacker was well known in the area as a drug addict.
Khamrab was dismissed from the police force in January after being arrested for possession of pills known as Ya Ba containing meth and caffeine, and he had been previously reprimanded for repeated drug use.
He joined the Royal Thai Police in May 2012 and was moved to Na Wang in 2019 where he worked until his dismissal.
Former colleagues say he had frequent mood swings and was often shunned at work.
According to The Nation Thailand, he once drew his pistol at a bank manager who had complained after finding the officer asleep in a police car parked outside the bank when he was meant to be on guard while banknotes were being stocked.
Last year, he also had heated arguments with his wife over his alleged affair with a karaoke worker whose ex-boyfriend was a drug dealer.
The officer also verbally and physically assaulted a neighbour who confronted him about his noisy house parties.
People gather outside the daycare centre after the mass shooting in the town of Uthai Sawan
A pair of relatives comfort each other after the horrific massacre with children as young as two among the dead
Frantic family members wept and watched outside the nursery school building
Thailand forms part of Southeast Asia’s so-called Golden Triangle which has long been an infamous hotspot for the trafficking and abuse of drugs.
Surging supplies of methamphetamine have sent street prices crashing in Thailand to all-time lows, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
The prime minister had alerted all agencies to take action and apprehend the culprit, a government spokesperson said, before they found his dead body.
PM Prayuth Chan-ocha said it was a shocking incident and sent condolences to the families of the victims.
He said: ‘Concerning this horrifying incident… I would like to express my deepest sorrow and condolences to the families of the dead and injured.’
The massacre is among the worst involving children killed by a single 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.
Gun laws are strict in Thailand, but gun ownership is high compared with some Southeast Asian countries, and illegal weapons are common, with many brought in from strife-torn neighbours in the region.
People stand around at the nursery in shellshock after the horrific killings
Khamrab was allegedly fired from the force after failing a drugs test, and was due in court tomorrow
National Police Chief Damrongsak Kittiprapat speaks with his police operation team after the attack
The mass killing comes less than a month after a serving army officer shot dead two colleagues at a military training base in the capital Bangkok.
While Thailand has high rates of gun ownership, mass shootings are extremely rare.
Official figures do not include huge numbers of illegal weapons, many of which have been brought in across porous borders over the years from strife-torn neighbours.
But in the past year, there have been at least two other cases of shooting murders by serving soldiers, according to the Bangkok Post.
In 2020, in one of the kingdom’s deadliest incidents in recent years, a soldier gunned down 29 people in a 17-hour rampage and wounded scores more before he was shot dead by commandos.
That mass shooting, linked to a debt dispute between gunman Sergeant-Major Jakrapanth Thomma and a senior officer, triggered public anger against the military.
The soldier was able to steal assault rifles from an army depot before embarking on his killing spree, posting live updates on social media as he did so.
Military top brass were at pains to portray the killer as a rogue soldier.