A former police officer stormed a nursery in Thailand on Thursday, shooting dead at least 30 people, most of them children, before killing himself and his family.
The attacker, armed with a shotgun, a pistol and a knife, opened fire on the childcare centre in Nong Bua Lam Phu province at about 12:30 pm (0530 GMT) before fleeing the scene in a pickup truck.
“The death toll from the shooting incident is at least 30 people,” said Anucha Burapachaisri, a spokesman for the Thai prime minister’s office.
The dead include at least 23 children, said police colonel Jakkapat Vijitraithaya, from the province where the attack happened.
After the attack, the gunman went home and killed himself and his wife and child, Jakkapat said.
The gunman has been named Panya Khamrab, 34, and Jakkapat said he was dismissed from the force last year for drug use.