More than 30 people, mostly children, have been killed when a gunman opened fire in a childcare centre in northeastern Thailand, authorities said.
Police Major General Achayon Kraithong said the shooting occurred early in the afternoon on Thursday in the centre in the town of Nongbua Lamphu.
He said the attacker killed 30 people before taking his own life. He had no more details.
A spokesperson for a regional public affairs office said 26 deaths have been confirmed so far — 23 children, two teachers and one police officer.
According to Thai media reports, the gunman also used knives in the attack and then fled the building.
Photographs showed at least two bodies on the floor of the centre covered in white sheets.
Several media outlets identified the assailant as a former police lieutenant colonel from the region but there was no immediate official confirmation.
The Daily News newspaper reported that after fleeing the scene of the attack the assailant returned to his home and killed himself along with his wife and child.
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A statement from the prime minister’s office said the shooting took place at the Child Development Centre in Uthaisawan Na Klang district, Nong Bua Lamphu province.
“The prime minister has expressed his condolences on the shooting incident which resulted in 30 deaths,” the statement read.
Gun ownership in Thailand is relatively high compared with other countries in South-East Asia.
Mass shootings in the country are rare but a 2020 incident saw a soldier kill 29 people in a shooting spree that began at a military site and then sent shoppers hunting for cover after the gunman entered a mall.
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