Mass shooting at Thai day care center leaves at least 35 dead

• At least 24 children and 11 adults were killed Thursday in an attack that began at a Thai day care center.
• The gunman fled and fired more shots while driving home.
• He murdered his wife and son before taking his own life

A former police officer killed at least 24 children and 11 adults in a gun and knife attack that began Thursday at a day care center in Thailand, authorities said. The assailant fled the first scene, shooting from his car as he drove to his house, where he killed his wife and son before taking his own life.

Photos and videos posted online from the day care center showed the floor of one room stained with blood and mats strewn everywhere. Pictures of the alphabet and other colorful decorations adorned the walls.

Mass shooting at Thai day care center leaves at least 35 dead

In videos from the scene, desperate family members could be heard crying outside the building. Ambulances waited while police and doctors walked in. To see the videos click HERE.

Authorities identified the assailant as a former police officer and said he entered the day care center after noon in the northeastern Thai city of Nongbua Lamphu, The Associated Press reported.

Gunman murdered his wife and son

Twenty-two children and two adults died in the building before the shooter fled, according to a police statement. But he kept shooting at people from his car, Police Maj. Gen. Paisal Luesomboon told The Associated Press.

After arriving home, he killed his wife and son and then himself, police said. Police said he killed two other children and nine adults outside the child care center, including his wife and his son. Filed Under: Thailand mass shooting

Mass shooting shocks the country

Gun-related deaths in Thailand are much lower than in countries like the United States and Brazil, but higher than in countries like Japan and Singapore that have strict gun control laws.

The rate of firearm-related deaths in 2019 was about 4 per 100,000, compared to about 11 per 100,000 in the US and nearly 23 per 100,000 in Brazil. Filed Under: Thailand mass shooting