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A 3-year-old child who survived the massacre at a nursery in Thailand’s northeast Nong Bua Lamphu province last week was fast asleep throughout the incident.
Paveenut Supolwong, nicknamed Ammy, slept with a blanket covering her face in the corner of a classroom during naptime at a nursery in the town of Uthai Sawan Thursday, Reuters reported.
That was the day former police officer Panya Khamrap, 34, went on a killing spree mainly at the nursery at around 12:30 p.m. local time.
Khamrap, who was armed with a shotgun, pistol and knife during the attack, ended up killing at least 36 people over the course of the day before he fatally shot himself at his home, according to ITV News.
Among the victims were 24 children, 11 of whom were stabbed to death in Supolwong’s classroom.
A person was able to find Supolwong stirring in a far corner of a classroom after Khamrap had left.
She was the only child in the nursery to have escaped unscathed, according to Reuters.
“I’m in shock. I feel for other families… I’m glad that my kid survived. It’s a mixed feeling of sadness and gratitude,” the child’s mother, Panompai Sithong, was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Sithong said she believed spirits protected her daughter.
“My kid is not a deep sleeper. I believe there must be some spirits covering her eyes and ears. We have different beliefs, but to me, I think it protected my kid,” the mother said.
Another relative told local media that Supolwong’s survival was a “miracle.”
The 3-year-old girl seems to have no memory of the tragedy, her parents said. She also does not yet know the full extent of the tragedy she lived through.
Police have yet to establish Khamrap’s motives, but they noted that he was troubled by marital and financial troubles following his suspension from the force in January over drug-related offenses, Global News reported.
The ex-sergeant, who quarreled with his wife on the day of the incident, may have wanted to “vent,” according to local police chief Chakkraphat Wichitvaidya.
Khamrap’s wife and his stepson were among the 11 people he killed outside the nursery.
Thursday’s incident marks the deadliest mass shooting in Thailand’s history.
The country’s previous worst mass shooting happened in 2020 when a soldier shot 29 people at a shopping center in the northeastern city of Nakhon Ratchasima.
If you have thoughts of suicide, confidential help is available for free at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Call 1-800-273-8255. The line is available 24 hours, every day.
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