People gather around the funeral pyres on the day of the cremation ceremony for the victims

People gather around the funeral pyres on the day of the cremation ceremony for the victims

People gather around the funeral pyres on the day of the cremation ceremony for the victims, following a mass shooting at a day care center in the town of Uthai Sawan, in the province of Nong Bua Lam Phu, Thailand, Oct. 11, 2022.

👉 The bodies of the many of the young victims whose lives were snuffed out in last week’s massacre at a day care center in rural northeastern Thailand were dressed Tuesday as doctors, soldiers or astronauts — what they wanted to be when they grew up

 — before they were to be cremated in the evening at Buddhist temples.

The gun and knife attack carried out by a former policeman Thursday on the Young Children’s Development Center in Uthai Sawan killed 36 people, including 24 children.

Families of the victims gathered for the start of a shared cremation ceremony that marks an end to three days of funeral rites. Mourners also placed children’s toys, candles, and incense sticks in front of portraits of the victims at Rat Samakee temple, just 3 kilometers from the scene of the bloodshed.

Volunteer rescue worker Attarith Muangmangkang said his organization arranged for the costumes and assisted the families with changing the victims’ outfits.

“The more we talked [with the families], we realized that these children also had dreams of becoming doctors, soldiers, astronauts, or police officers,” Attarith said. “We provided those uniforms for them.” (Reuters/AP)