Thirty-six people, including 22 children, were killed in northeastern Thailand on Thursday after a former police officer opened fire at a daycare, police said.
The office of the police general Surachete Hakparn said at least 12 people were wounded, eight of them seriously, and were receiving medical treatment.
Among those who died in Uthai Sawan, which is located approximately 310 miles northeast of Bangkok in the province of Nong Bua Lamphu, 19 boys and three girls were among those who died, police said. The suspected shooter, who killed his wife and child, was listed among the dead, the officer in charge of the case, Col. Jackrapat Wijitwaitaya, told NBC News.
The suspect is Panya Khamrab, a former police officer who had served at Na Wang Police Station in Nong Bua Bamphu Province until he was arrested with methamphetamines.
They didn't give any more information about his background. He left his job last year, according to Reuters.
Khamrab entered the center at lunchtime, when about 30 children were present, local official Jidapa Boonsom told Reuters. She said a teacher who was shot dead was eight months pregnant.
Pictures circulating on social media, which have not been verified by NBC News, show children's bodies lying prone in a room with alphabet posters and colorful learning material on the walls.
The prime minister has also ordered Lt. Gen. Yanyong Wech-Osoth, commander-in-chief of the police, to fly to Nong Bua Lamphu to help with the investigation.
Mass shootings are rare in Thailand, but not unknown.
A soldier who was angry with a property deal went sour killed 29 people and wounded 57 in a rampage that spanned four locations in 2020.