Patrick Smith is a London-based editor and reporter for NBC News Digital.
Reuters contributed .
At least 31 people were killed when a gunman opened fire at a children's daycare center in northeastern Thailand on Thursday, police said.
The shooting took place in Nong Bua Lamphu province and the dead include both children and adults, the Royal Thai Police said in a statement on its Facebook page. Many are wounded and receiving medical treatment, it added.
A manhunt was underway to find the suspected shooter, who police named as former police officer Panya Khamrab. He served at Na Wang Police Station in Nong Bua Bamphu Province, police said.
A spokesperson for the Thai prime minister, Prayut Chan-o-cha, said all security agencies had been alerted in the attempt to catch the alleged culprit, according to Reuters.
The prime minister has also ordered Lt. Gen. Yanyong Wech-Osoth, commander in chief of the police, to fly to Nong Bua Lamphu to speed up the investigation.
Mass shootings are rare in Thailand, but not unknown.
In 2020, a soldier who was angry over a property deal gone sour killed at least 29 people and wounded 57 in a rampage that spanned four locations.
