The ex-policeman who killed at least 38 people, mostly young children, in a shooting spree in the northeastern province of Nong Bua Lam Phu on Thursday had a history of drug use, according to the national police chief.
Pol Gen Damrongsak Kittiprapas confirmed that the assailant responsible for Thailand’s worst mass shooting had been discharged on charges of drug abuse and was due to be sentenced by the court this morning for illegal possession of amphetamine.
Pol Sgt Panya Kamlarb had attended a court hearing earlier Thursday morning before he barged into a day-care center located in a local administration office in Naklang district to start a shooting spree that killed at least 38 people, mostly children with some as young as three years old and injured another 10.
“He was apparently under stress and hallucinated,” Damrongsak told a news conference in Nong Bua Lam Phu.
He said the assailant had previously served at Yannawa police station in Bangkok before being moved to Lumpini police station. He was later transferred back to his hometown in Nong Bua Lam Phu in 2019.
The police chief said Panya was later investigated for drug abuse before being apprehended on charges of illegal possession of amphetamine. He was discharged in June this year and was scheduled to be sentenced by the court in Nong Bua Lam Phu this morning.
After the shooting spree, Panya escaped in a pick-up truck back to his home where he later killed his wife and son before committing suicide.
