Thailand 35 people were killed, most of them children, in a mass shooting and the suicide of the perpetrator

Thirty-five people were killed in a shooting in Thailand, while Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha ordered an investigation after this "terrible" massacre, state media reported.

A former police officer stormed a kindergarten in northern Thailand Thursday, killing at least 35 people, most of them children, before killing his family and committing suicide, while Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha ordered an investigation after this "terrible" massacre.

The attacker, who was armed with a firearm, pistol and knife, opened fire on the nursery in Nong Bua Lampo province at 5:30 GMT before fleeing the scene in a truck.

Provincial Police Colonel Jakapat Vijitraitthaya said 34-year-old former policeman Banya Khamrab returned to his home and killed his wife and child after the attack.

The police reported that the death toll from the shooting reached 35 people.

Vijitraitthaya told AFP that the massacre's toll was 35 dead and 12 wounded, three of whom were seriously injured.

"Regarding the terrible incident in Nong Bua Lampo province, I would like to express my deepest sadness and offer my condolences to the families of the people who were killed or injured," the Thai prime minister wrote on his Facebook account.

The shooter, Banya Khamrab, was sacked last year due to drug-related problems.

"He tried to hit other people on the road. He crashed into a motorbike and two people were injured. I ran away," Witness Bawena Borishan, 31, who was on her motorcycle near her shop, told AFP. "There was blood everywhere," she added.

29 dead in 2020

Thailand is one of the countries in the world with the largest number of arms in circulation.

A shooting took place in February 2020 by an army officer in Thailand at a shopping mall in Nakhon Ratchasima, killing 29 people.

The shooter, a 31-year-old officer, was shot dead by security forces 17 hours later. He had started shooting after a dispute with the person responsible.

Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha declared at the time: "This is unprecedented in Thailand, and I want this to be the last time such a crisis occurs."

Royal Army Sergeant-Major was also behind a shooting attack at a military post in Bangkok in September, which killed two soldiers.