At least 24 children and 11 adults were slain today in a gun and knife attack that began at a child care center in Thailand, according to authorities.

The perpetrator fled the first incident, opened fire from his car as he drove home, and then killed his wife and child before committing suicide.

Blood was spread on the floor of one room of the daycare, and sleeping mats were strewn around the facility, as depicted by images and videos shared online. The walls were covered with images of the alphabet and other vibrant decorations.

Videos from the scene depicted distraught family members sobbing outside the structure. Ambulances stood by while police officers and medical personnel wandered about.

Authorities determined that the assailant was a former police officer and that he entered the child care center in the Thai city of Nong Bua Lamphu at about noon.

According to a police statement, 22 children and two adults were killed in the building before the attacker fled. Police Major General Paisal Luesomboon told The Associated Press that he continued to fire individuals from his automobile.

Police said that after returning home, he murdered his wife and child and then himself.

Outside the daycare center, he allegedly murdered two additional children and nine adults, including his wife and son.

The number of firearm-related deaths in Thailand is far fewer than in countries such as the United States and Brazil, but greater than in nations with tight gun control legislation, such as Japan and Singapore. In 2019, the rate of firearm-related fatalities was approximately 4 per 100,000, compared to over 11 per 100,000 in the United States and roughly 23 per 100,000 in Brazil.

A clerk shot and killed two coworkers at Thailand's Army War College in Bangkok last month before being apprehended.

In 2020, a disgruntled soldier opened fire in and around a shopping center in the northeastern city of Nakhon Ratchasima, killing 29 people before being killed by security officers 16 hours later.