Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Record
Daily Record
World
Rachel Hagan & Nicola Croal

Thailand nursery shooting: 8 month pregnant teacher and twin boys among 38 victims

A heavily pregnant teacher and three-year-old twin boys are believed to be among 38 of the victims killed in a monstrous nursery mass murder shooting. Ex-police officer Panya Khamrab, 34, went on the killing spree at the day care centre in Nong Bua Lamphu, Thailand, yesterday.

Teacher Supaporn Pramongmuk, 26, was due to have her baby in about a month's time before she was tragically murdered. Khamrab, who was a former Police Lieutenant that was discharged from the services for drug use, also went on to brutally take the lives of his wife, his child and finally himself after the sickening nursery massacre on Thursday, the Mirror reports.

According to local TV Station, PPTV, the evil killer murdered the young children with a knife, and then pulled a gun at people as he drove away from the scene. The mass murder rampage is among the worst killing sprees carried out by one individual and involving children that's been recorded in recent history.

The nursery in northern Thailand where the mass murder took place (AFP via Getty Images)

Seksan Sriraj, 28, Ms Pramongmuk's heartbroken husband said: “I cried until I had no more tears coming out of my eyes. They are running through my heart. My wife was doing her duty as a teacher to the fullest capacity. She’s now a teacher in heaven.

''My baby boy is now taking care of his mother in heaven. I still cannot come to terms with it. What is the perpetrator’s heart made of?” He also posted a sonogram image of their baby who was due later in the year.

Pink and white coffins with gold embellishment which held the bodies of the children killed were loaded onto a truck late on Thursday and driven away in the darkness. Thai government buildings flew flags at half mast on Friday to mourn the death of those who died in the tragic massacre which left the country shocked and seeking answers.

Pictures of the victims on top of their coffins (REUTERS)

Emergency services and rescue workers were also seen carrying coffins containing the bodies of victims at Udon Thani hospital. A local official said the age range of children at the daycare centre ranged from two to five years. The young victims include twins Weerapat and Weeraphon Nuatkao who were just three.

The aunt of a three-year-old boy who died said: "I came and I saw two bodies in front of the school and I immediately knew that my kid was already dead." She had been looking after her nephew while his parents worked in Bangkok.

"It's a scene that nobody wants to see. From the first step when I went in, it felt harrowing," Piyalak Kingkaew, an emergency worker heading the first responder team, told Reuters.

Relatives of victims mourn at Sri Uthai temple (REUTERS)
Mourning relatives after 38 killed during the nursery massacre in Thailand (Getty Images)

"I don't know (why he did this), but he was under a lot of pressure," the killer's mother told Nation TV, noting drug debts the former policeman had. Mr Khamrab forced his way into a locked room where the children were sleeping.

One three-year-old who was brutally stabbed has survived and is being treated at Udon Thani Hospital, the country’s health minister said. They said the youngster was hooked up to a breathing tube and responsive despite suffering a skull fracture.

Tragically, his mother died and his grandmother was injured in the attack. The massacre is one of the worst involving children killed by one person in recent history.

Anders Breivik killed 69 people, mostly teenagers, at a summer camp in Norway in 2011, while the death toll in other cases includes 20 children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Connecticut in 2012, 16 at Dunblane in Scotland in 1996 and 19 at a school in Uvalde, Texas, this year.

Thailand’s King, Maha Vajiralongkorn, will place the victims of the attack under royal patronage and will pay for the funerals of those killed and the medical expenses of anyone injured. Prayuth Chan-Ocha, the Prime Minister, is expected to meet with some of the families on Friday afternoon and the King will visit a hospital in the area in the evening.

Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.

READ NEXT:

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.