Date: 16 June 2005

Location: Siem Reap, Cambodia

Type of event: criminal

Description:

A hostage-taking at an elementary school for international children in Siem Reap, Cambodia, ended with one child killed. Chea Sokhom, a Cambodian who had been employed to take two children to the school, had a disagreement with the children's father, a South Korean. Sokhom recruited three friends in a plot to enter the school and kill the two South Korean children. They stormed the school at 9:30 AM with guns and knives and took two kindergarten classes hostage (about 70 children ages 2 to 6), but could not locate their intended targets. They released all but 30 children and a teacher. Sokhom fatally shot a two-year-old Canadian boy who would not stop crying. The gunmen demanded a van, ransom, and weapons; police provided the van and ransom and stormed the gunmen as they loaded the van with hostages, ending the seige without further injury.

Consequences: 1 killed, 0 injured

References:

• "Violence in our schools, January 1, 2005 through December 31, 2009," on line, School Violence [http://columbine-angels.com/Shootings-2005-2009.htm].

© 2017 by Wm. Robert Johnston.
Last modified 3 December 2017.
Return to Home. Return to Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Unconventional Warfare.