“The customers were saying someone was shooting. I just stood there, not sure what to do. I was shaken and scared,” said the 48-year-old.
“I left the storefront and just stayed inside my house. I locked the door and didn’t emerge. The road was empty. There were no kids, nobody, only big vehicles of the authorities driving past.”
Thongmuan also rushed her 21-year-old daughter inside the house, along with her son-in-law.
“I feel speechless. I feel so sorry for the kids. They didn’t know anything. How could he do that?“ she said.
“I still get startled. It wouldn’t go away. Whenever there is loud noise made by cars outside, I’d feel like I have a heart attack. I’d feel startled. This had never happened to me until yesterday.”
The food seller never expected violence like this in her neighborhood, just like Jeeran.
When he heard the news on Thursday, he told his wife to take their granddaughter to their son’s house 3km away, as he was not sure if the assailant would return to the scene and harm more people.
“We often go to the nursery. At weekends, we would also take her to that area to play because we live just close by and our fields are here,”
After the tragedy, however, Jeeran is considering taking his granddaughter to a different nursery as he feels the one she usually goes to is no longer safe.
“Nobody thought someone would go there and do that,” he said.
“The assailant had also brought his child to the nursery. So, the teachers thought he just came to get some milk.”