UPDATE 2 - Ex-Thai cop with history of drug abuse kills 35, family, then commits suicide

UPDATES WITH POLICE STATEMENT, MORE DETAILS; CHANGES HEADER, DECK

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – The attacker of a mass shooting in Thailand on Thursday was a former policeman with a history of drug abuse, police said.

The former cop, 34, has been identified as Pol Corporal Panya Kamlarb, who carried out a gun and knife attack on a day-care center, killing 35 people, 24 of whom were children.

The deadly incident happened at around 12:50 p.m. (0550GMT) in the upper northeastern province of Nong Bua Lam Phu at a day-care home housed in the office of the Uthai Sawan Tambon Administration in Naklang district.

Twelve more people were injured and are being treated.

After the attack, he killed his wife and their child before committing suicide.

The deceased gunman was "apparently under the influence of drugs," Pol Maj Gen Paisal Luesomboon told Thai public broadcaster PBS News.

“The gunman is a former policeman who was discharged last year on a charge of drug abuse,” he said.

The police officer said Kamlarb was “armed with a shotgun, a pistol and a knife.”

“Kamlarb opened fire, killing 23 people, most of them young children,” said Luesomboon, who is deputy commander of Region 4 Police of Thailand.

“The gunman also fired randomly at passers-by as he fled the nursery, killing another nine people,” he added.