Thailand’s Uthai Sawan community left reeling after deadly rampage in childcare centre

Kritsana Sola, whose nickname was “Captain”, was a cheerful little boy who loved cartoons and dinosaurs. His life was one of dozens cut devastatingly short yesterday, when a man armed with two guns and a knife stormed a Thai daycare centre.

The community of Uthai Sawan has been left reeling in the aftermath of the shocking attack on the Child Development Centre in Nong Bua Lamphu province.

Grieving parents gathered near the centre after the attack, some openly weeping as mourners offered white roses and prayers during a flower-laying ceremony.

WARNING: Readers may find details in this story distressing.

Kritsana Sola’s mother, Panida Pawanna, 19, was among the family members trying to make sense of the deadly rampage.

“I heard there was a shooting outside. I did not know the shooter went inside. When I heard I could not stay in place, I rushed in to pick up my son, but it was too late,” she told the ABC.

“I haven’t talked to anyone yet — I have two children.”

Ms Pawanna described her almost-three-year-old as a cheerful boy, who liked to play with friends and watch cartoons.

“He likes to play cars, he likes dinosaurs very much. He likes eating pizza — he told me he wanted to have pizza yesterday, I planned to take him out,” she said.

“I miss him. I could not believe that he is gone. I haven’t seen him yet. I heard that the bodies are at Udon hospital.”

Hospital officials said autopsies had been completed on Friday, and that the victims’ bodies would be brought back to a local administrative office near the day care centre so that their families could claim them.

Government officials and volunteers have flocked to the area, which is one of the poorest communities in Thailand, to offer assistance. 

Some were helping grieving families apply for compensation, while others fetched water and fanned mourners struggling to cope in the heat.

Psychologists stood by to offer counselling, to help families begin to process their trauma.

How massacre unfolded

About 12:30pm, local time, on Thursday, a gunman burst through the doors of the daycare centre as children were going down for their nap.

He had gone to the centre to collect his child, according to police chief Damrongsak Kittiprapas, and opened fire after he was unable to find his child there.

Armed with a shotgun, pistol and knife, the man went on a killing spree before fleeing back to his home to kill his wife and child. He then took his own life.

At least 37 people died in the attack, most of them children, some as young as two years of age.

In the aftermath of the massacre, footage of the centre showed dining tables outside still covered with food and drinks from earlier that day.

A day after the news broke, the parents of twins — who died while lying peacefully next to each other — were so distraught they could barely speak.

‘I cannot imagine what your heart was made of’

Seksan Sriraj’s pregnant wife was a teacher at the centre who was killed in the massacre. She had been due to give birth this month. 

“I cried until I had no more tears coming out of my eyes. They are running through my heart,” he told the AP. 

Sharing a photo of his family on Facebook, he wrote a message to his wife and unborn child.

“My wife is now a teacher in heaven,” he wrote.

“I cannot come to terms with what has happened. I cannot imagine what [the killer’s] heart was made of.

“I love you mummy and baby, don’t worry about anything, I will take care of your father and mother.”

For many in this small community, the sense of shock has been completely overwhelming.

Prakuan Burawat, 51, is a grandmother of one of the children killed in the massacre. She broke down in tears while trying to make sense of the news. 

“I heard the news from the TV, then my daughter called me and I came by bus,” she told the ABC.

“I felt so sad, I fainted. I could not make sense of it.”

Her granddaughter, aged two-and-a-half, was the youngest of three children. 

Thailand’s King and Queen will join Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on a visit to Uthai Sawan later tonight to meet with victims’ families, reflecting just how deeply the attack has been felt throughout the country.

All Thai people are feeling depressed and saddened by what has happened, Thailand’s deputy prime minister, Don Pramudwinai, said.

Massacre among deadliest in Thailand’s history

The rural province of Nong Bua Lamphu is one of the poorest areas of Thailand, a majority Buddhist country of about 69 million people.https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/9mp0d/1/?abcnewsembedheight=700&dark=false

Mass shootings are rare but Thailand does have some of Asia’s highest rates of gun ownership.

Police have speculated that the gunman may have targeted the centre because it was near his home.

Authorities later identified him as Panya Kamrap, a former officer in the national police force who had been suspended for drug use in January and sacked in June, according to National Police Chief Damrongsak Kittiprapas.

He had been due to appear in court on Friday. 

Seven of the 10 people who were injured in the attack were still being treated in hospital on Friday.

It is believed to be one of the world’s deadliest child massacres by a single killer in recent history.

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