Thailand Massacre: Death Toll Rises To 38 After Gun Rampage At Child-Care Centre

WARNING: Readers may find details in this story distressing.

At least 38 people, including 24 children, have been killed in a mass attack on a childcare centre in north-east Thailand sending shockwaves across the country.

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Armed with several weapons including a gun and a knife, the attacker opened fire as children were sleeping at the centre in the rural town of Uthai Sawan in Thailand's northeastern province of Nongbua Lamphu, one of the country's poorest regions.

As he fled the scene, the attacker drove into a crowd of people and shot bystanders, then returned home and shot his wife and child before turning the weapon on himself.

A former police officer, the suspect had been dismissed from the force after being caught with methamphetamines, officials say.

Investigators are looking into whether it was a drug-fuelled attack.

The massacre is among one of the world's deadliest child mass killings by one person.

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha was expected to visit the region on Friday.

In a statement on Facebook, he called Thursday's rampage a "shocking incident".

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