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Mother Believes It’s a Miracle Her 3 Year-old Survived Daycare Massacre
Ammy, three years old, escaped the notice of a disgraced policeman who had entered her daycare and shot and stabbed 24 children and two of their teachers.
Ammy’s habit of wrapping herself in a blanket to sleep may have saved her life, according to her mother, Ms. Panomphat Srithong, 35, who was working 500 kilometres away at an electronics company in Bangkok last Thursday when the attack occurred.
As Ammy sat quietly in her arms, wearing a religious amulet, her mother said, “someone told me that all the children had died.” “Later, I saw a video of Ammy that someone had taken. It is a miracle that she survived.”
Ammy’s mother and daughter were at Wat Si Uthai temple to participate in the funeral rites for her deceased classmates.
Ammy had attended the daycare centre for approximately a year and was the only child to escape the attack unharmed.
Ms. Panomphat is cautious about triggering memories of that day by asking her daughter too many questions about it, but she reports that Ammy has some comprehension of what transpired in the daycare.
“She is aware that her best friend has passed away,” said Ms. Panomphat, who also has a 10-year-old son.
Another survivor of the daycare massacre was severely injured and is currently in intensive care.
Reuters reports that Ammy was discovered awake and curled up next to the bodies of her daycare classmates.
“When she awoke, she had no idea what was happening,” her 59-year-old grandfather Somsak Srithong said.
“She believed her companions were still asleep. A police officer covered her face with a cloth and removed her from the blood by carrying her away.”
Ammy has been evaluated by a mental health professional, who concluded that she appeared healthy and was still her bubbly self. Ms. Panomphat stated, “She is still a cheerful girl.”
The attack by former police officer Panya Kamrab claimed the lives of 37 adults and children.
Panya, facing drug-related charges, shot and killed his wife and son before turning the gun on himself.
The victims of the daycare massacre have received funeral rites at three temples, sponsored by King Maha Vajiralongkorn, and will be cremated on Tuesday.
Ms. Panomphat believes that her repeated temple visits have yielded positive results.
“I believe it prevented her from being killed,” she said.
Following the tragedy, the Thai government dispatched mental health professionals to counsel survivors and their families.
