On October 6th, 2022, a daycare was attacked in Uthai Sawan, Nong Bua LamPhu province, Thailand, by former police officer Panya Khamrab. As a result, 37 people died and many more were injured, most of whom were children.
Several people were killed and injured along the way as the attacker drove to the Uthai Sawan Child Development Center. Upon arriving there at 12:30 pm, local time, Panya Khamrab proceeded to shoot and slash the people in the courtyard, resulting in more deaths. He then shot through the locked door of the daycare, kicked it open, and killed the teachers and children with his knife and gun. The children, aged 2-5, had been napping when the massacre occurred, and only one child who had been present survived. However, there were many children who hadn’t gone to the daycare that day due to the floods, and some teachers had managed to escape. Leaving the daycare, the former police officer continued to kill people on his way to his house. Around 3:00 pm, he set fire to his truck and killed his girlfriend and child, before commiting suicide.
Panya Khamrab grew up in Tha Uthai, and had been working as a police officer when he returned there in 2020. However, due to a history of drug abuse, he was fired in January. The day of the attacks, he had had a court appointment regarding his charge on drugs. In addition, reports say he had conflicts with other people, including his previous colleagues and girlfriend. The weapons he used, including the gun, had been obtained legally. According to the police, there hadn’t been enough police and had to wait for a commando unit. When they surrounded the attacker’s house and found him, he was already dead.
To end this article, I would like to offer my condolences to those families, friends, and neighbors who have lost those special to them. I sincerely hope that such an event never occurs again anywhere in the world, and that we all work together to ensure that no more lives are lost due to the wrongdoings of others.
— Writer Jia Lee can be reached at jial26@rism.ac.th.
