A gunman has killed at least 37 people in a shooting and stabbing rampage that started at a childcare centre in north-east Thailand.
WARNING: Readers may find details in this story distressing.
The attack in Uthai Sawan, a town about 500 kilometres north-east of Bangkok in the province of Nongbua Lamphu, is believed to be one of the world's deadliest child massacres by a single killer in recent history.
At least 24 children died in the attack — some as young as two years old — and about 12 people are injured, according to local media.
Police say the suspect was among the dead.
What do we know about the suspect?
Police identified the suspect as 34-year-old former police officer Panya Kamrap.
National Police Chief Damrongsak Kittiprapas said the gunman was suspended from the police force in January and sacked in June for drug use.
He was facing trial on a drugs charge.
Police said he had been in court earlier on the day of the attack and had then gone to the childcare centre to collect his child.
Later on Friday, police said preliminary investigations indicated he was deeply troubled by marital and money problems following his suspension.
"He wanted to vent. We learned from his mother that on the day of the incident he was quarrelling with his wife," local police chief Chakkraphat Wichitvaidya told Reuters.
His colleagues in the local police force said he was sometimes bad-tempered and violent while he worked there.
It was not clear if he was still a regular drug user, but national police chief Damrongsak Kittipraphat said an autopsy report indicated he had not used them on the day of the attack.
How did the childcare centre attack unfold?
Local officials said the man opened fire at the childcare centre at about 12:30pm local time.
A teacher told public broadcaster Thai PBS she saw the shooter get out of his car and immediately shoot someone eating lunch outside, then fired more shots.
Nanthicha Punchum, acting chief of the nursery, described in detail the attacker smashing down a door at the childcare centre using his leg and then attacking the children with a knife.
Another witness told Thailand's Kom Chad Luek television that staff at the daycare centre had locked the door, but the suspect shot his way in.
"I didn't think he would kill children, but he shot at the door and shot right through it," they said.
About 30 children were at the centre when the gunman came in, district official Jidapa Boonsom said.
The man first shot four or five staff, including a teacher who was eight months pregnant, she said, adding that at first people thought the noise was coming from fireworks.
Police said 19 boys, three girls and two adults were killed in the building before the gunman fled.
They said a few children survived, without giving details.
Where did he go next?
Witness Paweena Purichan told AFP she encountered the attacker driving erratically after fleeing from the scene.
"The attacker rammed a motorbike into two people who were injured," she said.
"I sped off to get away from him."
After he fled, the gunman continued to shoot from his car, hitting several people, police Major General Paisal Luesomboon said.
The man took his own life after killing his wife and child at home.
What weapons did he have?
Police said he was armed with a shotgun, pistol and a knife.
Mr Damrongsak told reporters the main weapon used was a 9-millimetre pistol he had purchased himself legally, and was not police property.
What else have officials said?
Mr Damrongsak said the attacker was in a manic state.
"What happened today will be a lesson to prevent this happening again in the future," he said.
Thailand's Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha has ordered an urgent probe into the attack, stating that it had shocked the country.
"Concerning this horrifying incident … I would like to express my deepest sorrow and condolences to the families of the dead and injured," he wrote on his official Facebook page.
He said he had told the national police chief to "fast-track an investigation".
ABC/wires
