TNI Bureau: More than 35 people, including at least 23 children, were killed Thursday in a shooting at a childcare centre in the northwest of the Thailand.

A former cop armed with a gun and a knife stormed a nursery in northeast Thailand on Thursday, shooting dead at least 35 people including children before killing himself and his family, police said.

The attacker, armed with a shotgun, a pistol and a knife, opened fire on the childcare centre in Nong Bua Lam Phu province at about 12:30 pm (0530 GMT) before fleeing the scene in a vehicle, the police added.

The 34-year-old gunman, who was dismissed from duties for illicit drug use, then killed himself, his wife and his child while a large-scale manhunt was underway in Nong Bua Lamphu, 333 miles north-north-east of Bangkok, as per reports.