Thailand King to visit survivors of nursery attack that killed 37 people, including 23 children

Most of the children who died at the daycare centre in Uthai Sawan on October 6 were stabbed to death, police said, marking one of the worst child death tolls in a massacre by a single killer in recent history

Weeping, grief-stricken families gathered on October 7 outside a Thai nursery where an ex-policeman murdered nearly two dozen children in one of the kingdom’s worst mass killings.

Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha will later visit survivors of the attack that left at least 37 people dead, including the attacker’s wife and child.

Overnight, coffins carrying the bodies of the victims including 23 children - arrived at a morgue in Udon Thani, the closest city to the rural district ripped apart by Thursday’s three-hour rampage.

Armed with a 9mm pistol and a knife, sacked police sergeant Panya Khamrab opened fire on the childcare centre in the northeastern Nong Bua Lam Phu province at about 12.30 p.m. (0530 GMT).

Following the attack, 34-year-old Panya fled the scene in a pickup truck to head home and murder his wife and child before taking his own life, police said, ending the killing spree around 3 p.m.

Outside the nursery - a low building in a local government complex fronted by a lawn - scores of people gathered on October 7 to mourn and pay their respects. Some wept inconsolably, wiping their eyes as loved ones hugged them.

Flags on government buildings flew at half-mast on October 7 in a gesture of mourning for one of the deadliest days in recent Thai history.