Thai nursery massacre unfolded over three hours of horror - Reuters.com

THA UTHAI, Thailand, Oct 12 (Reuters) - In the days earlier helium murdered 36 people, including 22 children stabbed arsenic they slept, the erstwhile constabulary sergeant down Thailand's worst massacre was firing guns successful his backmost yard.

For respective nights the dependable of 34-year-old Panya Khamrap’s 9 mm pistol cracked the soundlessness successful the sleepy colony of Tha Uthai, neighbours said.

It was the latest amusement of unit from the erstwhile constabulary officer, erstwhile a colony occurrence communicative who became an angry, introverted antheral successful a downward spiral, though inactive invested with immoderate of the authorization his aged occupation bestowed.

"How were we going to study him to the police? He was the police," said Phuwan Polyeam, 29, who lives adjacent by with her 2 children.

Panya murdered the 36 radical successful a three-hour rampage done the territory successful which helium was born, shooting and stabbing to decease neighbours, including a puerility friend.

The 22 kid victims astatine the nursery were boys and girls aged 2 to five. Seven are successful hospital.

The unit – the deadliest massacre of children anyplace successful caller years – has stunned the country.

Authorities initially blamed drugs. Panya was described by constabulary arsenic a idiosyncratic of methamphetamine pills known arsenic yaba and was fired successful January for cause possession.

But an autopsy recovered nary hint of drugs successful Panya's strategy connected the time of the killings, connected Thursday past week, constabulary said.

Thailand's lawman constabulary chief, General Surachate Hakparn, told Reuters the unit resulted from "exploded emotion", pointing to his dismissal from the constabulary and legal, money, and household troubles.

Panya's movements that time are obscure. There were aggregate murders successful antithetic locations and constabulary person yet to merchandise a broad account.

Reuters established a timeline of events done interviews with neighbours, witnesses, and an investigating officer.

They recounted 3 hours of fearfulness and a dilatory constabulary response. Phone records confirmed galore details.

Surachate acknowledged the constabulary effect had been dilatory and officers arrived excessively precocious to halt the killing. He besides pointed to the law, which forbids adjacent licensed weapon owners from firing astatine location oregon successful public.

"If determination had been an apprehension past this mightiness not person happened," helium said.

TROUBLING SIGNS

Nong Bua Lam Phu is simply a mediocre northeastern state lush with atom and sugarcane fields.

Panya grew up successful the distant colony of Tha Uthai and attended precocious schoolhouse earlier winning a spot to survey instrumentality astatine a apical Bangkok university. He aboriginal got a occupation with the police, moving successful immoderate of the capital's wealthiest neighbourhoods.

But successful 2020 helium arrived backmost home. Newly divorced, helium moved successful with a pistillate who worked astatine a karaoke barroom and her son.

He worked astatine a constabulary presumption but successful January was fired for drugs. Colleagues said helium was blistery tempered and started fights.

There were different troubling signs. A neighbour said helium locked his woman and her lad wrong erstwhile helium went out.

The lawman main of a neighbouring colony told media Panya had praised the 2020 massacre of 29 radical successful different state astatine the hands of a soldier, saying that helium would person killed more. She declined to beryllium interviewed.

Another neighbour said that days earlier his rampage the colony main warned Panya astir his behaviour. They argued and the colony main was afraid, said the neighbour, Suwan Tonsomsen. The main could not beryllium reached for comment.

Early connected the time of the massacre, Panya had a tribunal assignment connected a drugs charge. The verdict was owed the adjacent day. Before dawn, neighbours heard him arguing with his woman astatine their tiny location astatine the borderline of the village. Police said she told him she was leaving him.

'SO QUICKLY'

Reuters was incapable to found what happened astatine the tribunal but media, citing neighbours, reported that Panya's lawyer had asked him to amusement grounds of bully character. Another neighbour told Reuters helium had seen Panya's parent with his grade certificate.

When helium returned home, constabulary said, Panya's woman and her lad were gone.

At astir midday, helium near successful a achromatic pick-up truck. Turning a corner, helium crashed into a antheral connected a motorcycle extracurricular a tiny shop. He rolled down the model and changeable him, according to witnesser Sombat Rattani, who ran the shop.

The mortally wounded antheral crawled towards the shop, pleading for help, Sombat said. He glimpsed Panya done the window, his weapon pointed astatine him, and thought helium was going to die. They knew each other. Panya had bought h2o from his shop.

Panya did not shoot. Instead, helium drove to an intersection wherever helium rammed into a radical of people, near his truck, and stabbed them. Three died and respective were wounded.

From determination helium drove to the administrative analyzable wherever the Uthai Sawan Child Development Centre, a pink, one-storey building, is located adjacent to a authorities office.

Teachers successful the nursery had enactment the children down for their nap by the clip Panya arrived astatine astir 12:30 p.m.

He attacked radical successful the courtyard, shooting some, slashing others with a agelong leaf that farmers usage for hacking crops.

Several radical were killed there.

"Everything happened truthful rapidly and determination was humor everywhere," said bureau idiosyncratic Kittisak Polprakap, 29.

"I saw the wounded and dormant sitting unneurotic astatine a array arsenic if thing had happened."

People ran. Two pistillate employees, Jidapha Boonsom, 48, and Saowaluk Keeta, 25, dashed into an bureau looking retired onto the nursery.

Some unit called the constabulary but were told they were engaged elsewhere.

Panya changeable doubly astatine the nursery doorway and kicked it open, a witnesser told media. For astir 20 minutes helium went from country to room, shooting teachers and slashing the children with his machete.

Some teachers fled implicit a partition but not Supaporn Pramongmook, 26, who was eight-months pregnant. Another teacher, Maliwan Lasopha, tried to plead with Panya. They had played unneurotic arsenic children.

He killed them both.

'WHAT ARE YOU DOING?'

The bureau workers said Panya emerged calmly holding the leaf and drove off.

News of the unit dispersed with photos showing up connected societal media. Suwimon Sudfanpitak, the aunt of 1 of the children killed that day, rushed to the analyzable to spot 2 bodies extracurricular the nursery. "His teacher came to apologise, saying determination was thing that she could bash to prevention the kids," she said.

The lone kid to look from the nursery unscathed, a three-year-old called Ammy, was carried retired with a broad covering her eyes.

After driving backmost to his neighbourhood, Panya was approached by a neighbour. "What are you doing?" the antheral asked. "I'm present to fucking termination you," Panya replied. He changeable the neighbour dormant earlier fatally attacking another, said witnesser Phuwan Polyeam.

Sheltering successful her location with her 2 young children, her manus clamped implicit the rima of her lad to support him quiet, she sent her mother-in-law, Suwan Tonsomsen, frantic messages. "He is here," 1 read.

Suwan's telephone records showed galore calls to the police. "They said determination were not capable police," she said, and they had to hold for a commando unit. "It took them a while," she said.

Suwan said that aft Panya tried to acceptable occurrence to their car helium left. He walked backmost to his location where, astatine astir 3 p.m., helium burned his truck, changeable his girlfriend, her lad and past himself.

The assemblage is reeling.

"Everyone gets depressed," shopkeeper Sombat said. "But the solution is not transgression ... Why did helium onslaught and wounded children? That is what we're asking."

(This communicative has been corrected to hole erroneous notation to "several" from 5 radical killed successful courtyard successful paragraph 32)

Additional reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat, Panu Wongcha-Um, Vorasit Satienlerk, Chayut Setboonsarng and Ardchawit Inha; Writing by Poppy McPherson; Editing by Robert Birsel

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.