In the massacre, which killed 24 children and 13 adults, former police officer Panya Khamrab, 34, armed with a gun and a knife, broke into a locked room at a daycare where children were sleeping and attacked the little ones . Of the dozing children in the room, only Nong Am was unharmed. “It is a miracle of God that it saved my niece’s life,” her uncle Wutthichai Baothong told a local newspaper.
Normally, more than 90 children attend the daycare center, according to Thai media, but just over 20 students were there on Thursday due to bad weather and a temporary disruption to public bus services.
In a statement, police said the gunman broke into the building just after lunchtime and killed a teacher and a mother outside. Witnesses said he first shot staff including a governess who was eight months pregnant before he reached the room where the children were napping. He then stabbed most of his victims before fleeing.
When Panya Khamrab came home, he killed his wife and child and committed suicide. The shooter appeared in court on the morning of the attack on charges related to the use and possible sale of methamphetamine. He would be sentenced this Friday (7).