Masked gunmen seized dozens of children at an international school Thursday in northwestern Cambodia , killing a 3-year-old Canadian boy with a shot to the head before police rescued the hostages, authorities said.The four attackers stormed Siem Reap International School , grabbed students from several countries, and demanded money, weapons and a vehicle before police ended the six-hour standoff and took four young gunmen into custody.
Gunfire broke out inside the school, and hostage takers later told police they killed the Canadian boy because he was crying too much. Police moved in after they “threatened to kill the other children one by one,” Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said.
BBC has a first person account:
Around 0930 four men, one of whom was armed, walked into my child’s classroom.They locked the door and held him hostage, along with 20 of his classmates aged between two and six, one teacher and one teaching assistant.
[..]
When I heard the first gunshot, I felt my heart sink.