At Least 36 Killed in Thailand's Childcare Center Shooting

A gunman shot and killed at least 36 people at a childcare center in Thailand, Thursday. Children and teachers were among the victims. Thai officials say the mass shooting is the deadliest incident in the country's history.

The shooter, a former police officer, had been dismissed¹ from the service earlier this year and was facing an illegal drug charge. He killed himself after killing² his wife and child at home.

Photos taken by emergency workers showed the school's floor was filled with bodies of children still under blankets from their afternoon rest. The images showed cuts to their faces and gunshots to their heads on the bloody³ floor.

The attack took place in the rural⁴ town of Nongbua Lamphu in northeastern Thailand. A teacher told ThaiPBS public broadcaster that the attacker got out of a car and immediately shot a man and fired at several more. When the attacker stopped shooting to reload, the teacher said she had a chance to run inside.

"I ran to the back, the children were asleep," said the teacher who did not give her name. "The children were two or three years old," she said.

Another witness said workers at the childcare center had locked the door, but the man shot his way in.

"The teacher who died, she had a child in her arms," the witness told Thailand's Kom Chad Luek television. "I didn't think he would kill children, but he shot at the door and shot right through it."

A video taken at the scene showed rescuers running into the building past a broken glass door, with drops of blood on the ground in the entryway.

Police identified the gunman as 34-year-old former police officer Panya Kamrap. The man used a handgun and knife in the attack and also carried another gun. An officer told PPTV that he was fired from the force earlier this year because of a drug charge.

Thailand's Prime⁵ Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who planned to travel to the center on Friday, told reporters "This shouldn't happen." He added, "I feel deep sadness toward⁶ the victims and their relatives."

Mass shootings are rare but not unheard of in Thailand. The country has one of the highest civilian⁷ gun ownership⁸ rates in Asia. With 15.1 weapons per 100 people, the rate in Thailand is still far lower than the rate of 120.5 per 100 people in the United States. The numbers come from a 2017 study by Australia's GunPolicy.org, a nonprofit group.

Thailand's worst mass shooting before Thursday happened in the northeastern city of Nakhon Ratchasima in 2020. In that attack, a soldier killed 29 people and wounded nearly 60 others. And a bombing at a religious center in Bangkok resulted in 20 dead in 2015.

Words in This Story

blanket - n. a covering that is used to keep you warm

lock - v. to keep something in one position to keep it from opening

1 dismissed   

v.解雇( dismiss的过去式和过去分词 )；（使击球员或球队）退场；使退去；驳回

参考例句：

• Vegetarians are no longer dismissed as cranks. 素食者不再被视为有怪癖的人。
• He was dismissed for incompetence. 他因不称职而被解雇。

2 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

3 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

4 rural   

adj.乡下的，田园的，乡村风味的

参考例句：

• He lived a rural life.他过着田园生活。
• We left the city for a rural home.我们离开城市，去农村安家。

5 prime   

adj.首要的，主要的；最好的，第一流的

参考例句：

• The prime minister spoke of the general insecurity in the country.总理谈到了全国普遍存在的不安全。
• He met with the Prime Minister of Japan for an hour.他和日本首相会见了一个小时。

6 toward   

prep.对于，关于，接近，将近，向，朝

参考例句：

• Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
• Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了，并跑了过去。

7 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

8 ownership   

n.所有(权)，所有制

参考例句：

• The house is under new ownership.那栋房子已易新主。
• He claimed ownership of the house.他声称那幢房子归他所有。