Thailand: 22 children among 34 killed in mass shooting at day-care centre; shooter kills family, self

In a shocking incident, a former cop fired indiscriminately at a day-care centre on Thursday killing at least 34 people, including 22 children. The man then killed his wife and child too before shooting himself dead.

Bangkok (Thailand):As many as 34 people, mostly children, were Thursday killed in a mass shooting at a day-care centre in Na Klang area of Nong Bua Lamphu province in northeastern Thailand. The shooter, a former policeman, then killed his wife and child before shooting himself dead, reports said quoting local police.

The victims of the mass shooting at the daycare centre included children as young as 2 years old. There were 22 children among the victims of the suspected gunman, the reports said. About 30 children were at the centre when the gunman came in around lunchtime, district official Jidapa Boonsom was quoted saying by an international news agency.

Chakkraphat Wichitvaidya, superintendent of Na Klang police station, also told Thai Rath TV that the gunman had been discharged from the police force last year. 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.

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 in the northeastern province of Nong Bua Lamphu. ETV Bharat could not immediately authenticate the footage.