Their Majesties visit victims as nation grieves
Their Majesties the King and Queen yesterday visited victims of Thursday’s tragedy in Nong Bua Lam Phu and Udon Thani provinces.
The King and Queen arrived at Wing 23 airbase in Udon Thani and then continued on to Nong Bua Lam Phu Hospital in Muang district of Nong Bua Lam Phu.
They later travelled to Udon Thani Hospital in Muang district of Udon Thani.
At both hospitals, they visited the wounded and the families of victims and presented them with baskets of supporting gifts.
Their Majesties have also sponsored the medical treatment of victims and their funerals.
Her Royal Highness Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana Rajakanya also assigned Nong Bua Lam Phu’s deputy governor Suwit Chanhuan to lay flowers on her behalf at the child development centre — the scene of the incident.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday led cabinet ministers to the northeastern province of Nong Bua Lam Phu to visit the wounded and bereaved families.
Government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri said the government has paid more than 13 million baht in compensation to the wounded and the families of the victims. The money was drawn from the Social Security Office and the fund for victims of public disasters, as well as the Justice Ministry.
Shortly after noon on Thursday, a former police sergeant armed with a pistol and a long meat cleaver rampaged through the child care centre, attacking children and adults, in tambon Uthai Sawan of Na Klang district.
The killer had been expelled from the police force in January for possession of methamphetamine pills and appeared in court shortly before his killing spree.
He murdered sleeping children and their teachers and killed more people while driving back to his home, where he killed his wife and 3-year-old child before taking his own life.
Pol Gen Damrongsak Kittiprapas, the national police chief, said the killer used his cleaver to kill most of the children, but also used his gun on some victims.
According to the Nong Bua Lam Phu Hospital, a total of 37 people, including the killer, were killed in Thursday’s rampage, with another 10 injured, six seriously.
It is the deadliest mass slaying in Thailand by a single person. In 2020, on Feb 8-9, an army soldier killed 30 people and wounded 58 others before he was killed by police at a downtown mall in Nakhon Ratchasima.
The Department of Mental Health has set up a mental health crisis assessment and treatment team made up of more than 60 psychiatrists, doctors, nurses, and social workers to provide help and advice to families of the victims and local residents traumatised by the incidents.
Students, teachers and government officials in provinces nationwide yesterday mourned the victims.
In Buri Ram, 1,800 students and their black-clad teachers at Tessaban 2 School in Muang district observed a minute’s silence during morning assembly. The school’s national flag was flown at half-mast, along with many in the province.