Thailand mass shooting: What we know about the gunman, an ex-cop, who killed his family, self before shooting 34 dead

At least 34 people, including 22 children, were killed in Thailand on Thursday in a mass shooting at a daycare centre by a former policeman, who later killed his wife and child before shooting himself dead. The victims in the mass shooting included children as young as 2 years old. 

According to reports, the gunman identified as former Pol Cpl Panya Khamrab, was discharged from the police force last year. 

A report in Thailand-based Bangkok Post said that Khamrab carried guns and knives as he forced his way inside the daycare centre and opened fire.

Reuters quoted the police saying that he had been discharged from the service for drug-related reasons. 

About 30 children were at the centre when the gunman came in around lunchtime. A district official Jidapa Boonsom said that he first shot four or five staff, including a teacher who was eight months pregnant.

"The shooter came in around lunch time and shot four or five officials at the childcare centre first," said Jidapa, adding that among them was a teacher who was eight months pregnant.

"At first people thought it was fireworks," she said.

The gunman then forced his way into a locked room where children were sleeping, Jidapa said, to kill children there with a knife.

Videos posted on social media showed sheets covering what appeared to be the bodies of children lying in pools of blood at the centre in the town of Uthai Sawan, 500 km (310 miles) northeast of Bangkok in the province of Nong Bua Lamphu.

Mass shootings are rare in Thailand, even though the rate of gun ownership is high compared with some other countries in the region, and illegal weapons are common.

In 2020, a soldier angry over a property deal gone sour killed at least 29 people and wounded 57 in a rampage that spanned four locations.