Three-year-old girl's devastating question after living through nursery massacre
Paweenuch Supholwong, known as Ammy, was the only child found alive and well after a gunman stormed her nursery in the quiet Thai township of Uthai Sawan, killing 36 people
Nobody anticipated that three-year-old Paweenuch Supholwong would survive and live to recount her ordeal. When a gunman burst into her nursery in the peaceful Thai town of Uthai Sawan, she lay fast asleep beneath a blanket, encircled by her classmates.
Upon the arrival of emergency services, she remained the sole child discovered alive and unharmed - following a bloodbath that took 36 lives, including 24 youngsters.
During the horrific incident, Paweenuch - affectionately called "Ammy" by relatives and locals - slept beneath her covering, surrounded by her companions and fellow pupils. Upon the gunman's entry into the room, he slaughtered the youngsters surrounding her whilst leaving her unharmed.
Her mum, Panomplai Srithong, suspects he confused her daughter for one of the already deceased victims.
Following the attack, emergency workers found the tot still sleeping. They took her from the nursery with her eyes shielded, protecting her from witnessing the carnage within, reports the Mirror.
A second child survived with severe wounds and was rushed to hospital.
The catastrophe, which occurred in October 2022, shattered the tiny agricultural community of Uthai Sawan in Thailand's Nong Bua Lamphu province. The perpetrator, named by authorities as 34-year-old ex-policeman Panya Kamrap, had been sacked from the force earlier that year following drug-related accusations.
Following the massacre, he murdered his wife and young child before taking his own life. Officials have never established a definitive motive.
For many in the area, the shock remains undiminished. Locals say such brutality was inconceivable in their tranquil community, where everybody knows each other and families frequently help bring up one another's youngsters.
Paweenuch's parents, who are employed at a Bangkok electronics plant, were hundreds of miles away when they received the initial reports that their daughter's nursery had come under attack. Early accounts suggested nobody had made it out alive.
"Breathing was difficult," her mother said. "But when I found out my child survived, I was relieved - and I wanted to know if she had any injuries, if there was any damage."
When they eventually arrived in Uthai Sawan following a lengthy overnight journey, they discovered their daughter unharmed in her grandmother's embrace.
Although she had avoided physical injury, Ammy asked one question that shattered their hearts - she wanted to know where her best friend was.
The pair had been sleeping next to each other that morning. Her grandmother softly explained that her friend had "passed.
"That's when she found out," her mother said.
In the following days, residents assembled at neighbourhood temples to mourn, pray and remember those who perished. They also came to visit the little girl whose survival had been described by family members as "a miracle."
Mourners tied dozens of white, yellow and red "soul strings" around her tiny wrists - a part of a Buddhist ritual designed to call back a person's spirit after trauma.
"It is to bring the spirit back into her body," her mother clarified. "It's like the spirit had left the body and it is being called back."
Panomplai lost a cousin in the massacre, one of several adults killed outside the nursery as they tried to reach the children inside. "There's both good luck hidden in bad luck," she expressed.
"I'm fortunate my child is okay, but I lost my cousin. Some people lost their only child, their hope."
The nursery, which catered for around 90 local children, is located next to the district's administrative offices and opposite a sugar cane field. On the day of the attack, several factors - including monsoon flooding and a broken school bus - kept many children away, potentially saving more lives.
Nanticha Panchom, who manages the day care, was in the kitchen preparing lunch when the shooting started. "I never thought he would go inside," she recounted, recalling the chaos.
"It is almost impossible to imagine what this will mean for our township. We have lost so many children - our future."
Local officials shared similar feelings.
Chuanpit Geawthong, who works in the neighbouring office and regularly looked in on the youngsters, said the assault destroyed the security that had always characterised Uthai Sawan.
"Even during COVID, we did not lose anyone," she said.
"This is something that affects everyone. Our families are all connected, and now everyone here is grieving."
The Thai authorities acted swiftly, dispatching trauma specialists from Bangkok to deliver psychological care and providing financial aid of at least 310,000 baht (around £7,000) per affected household to cover burial expenses and urgent costs.