Following the devastating attack in Nong Bua Lamphu that claimed the lives of 38 people including 24 children, a man under the influence of the drug Methamphetamine was seen roaming around a daycare center in Non Suwan sub-district, Buriram province, northeast Thailand.
The 30-year-old Gongphon “Ming” Sehlah was reportedly having a psychotic episode when he reached the daycare center armed with a knife at 9 am on Wednesday and kept circling it.
According to the local police, Ming hit his 45-year-old mother on the head and burned down his house before he went to the daycare center in search of his four-year-old child.
There were 90 children inside the building and the staff at the Non Suwan Daycare Centre acted quickly to ensure their safety. After the Nong Bua Lamphu attack in October, the teachers in this daycare had recently undergone training to practice what to do in such a situation.
Daoprakai Kampuchat, a teacher at the center said that even before this recent attack, the school had put a child protection policy in place that ensured all gates were locked from the inside during school hours.
Residents rang the teachers after seeing Ming head toward the center. At that time, the children were rehearsing for Loy Krathong activities. The teachers double-checked that all doors were locked and guided the children to the second floor of the center. The children were not made aware of what happened.
After circling the center several times, Ming fled the location on his motorbike. Cops found him at a nearby field next to a pond and arrested him immediately.
