Hundreds of mourners have gathered at temples in Thailand to pray for the victims of the country’s deadliest mass killing that left 36 people dead.
The victims included 24 children, aged between two and five, who were killed in Thursday’s massacre at a day care centre in the small town of Uthai Sawan, some 310 miles (500km) from Bangkok.
Coffins containing the victims were taken to the Buddhist sites, which had been filled with toys, flowers and photographs of the smiling toddlers, who were murdered as they slept in the gun and knife rampage by a former policeman.
At the Si Uthai temple, grieving relatives were joined by members of the devastated community to light candles and remember the dead.
One of those was the youngest victim, two-year-old Pattarawat Jamnongnid, whose coffin was topped by a photograph of him in a pink American football shirt, along with a model dinosaur and a bottle of milk.
His mother, 40-year-old factory worker Daoreung Jamnongnid, said he was her only child and was energetic and talkative.
“He was so smart,” she said, revealing he already knew the alphabet.
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At another temple, Wat Rat Samakee, emotions were raw with relatives crying and saffron-robed monks chanting.
A toy sports car was placed on one of the coffins lined with gold-coloured fabric bearing Buddhist symbols.
“It was just too much. I can’t accept this,” said Oy Yodkhao, 51, whose four-year-old grandson Tawatchai Sriphu was killed.
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Pensiri Thana, an aunt of one of the victims, had stayed the night at the temple.
“It is a tradition that we keep company with our young ones. It is our belief that we should be with them so they are not lonely,” she said.
Police have identified the perpetrator of the killing spree as Panya Kamrap, 34, a former police sergeant who was facing trial on a drugs charge.
After leaving the nursery he murdered his wife and son before turning the gun on himself.
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Late on Friday, Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida visited the hospital where those injured in the attack were taken.
He said: “It is a tragedy that this evil thing has happened.
“There are no other words to describe this feeling.
“I want to give you all moral support to be strong, so that the souls of those children can have a sense of relief that their families will remain strong and be able to move forward.”
