A teenage suspect took the lives of his grandparents before fatally shooting at least six more individuals at a school near Bangkok on Friday, as reported by police.
Initially, he killed his grandparents with his grandfather’s handgun. Subsequently, he proceeded to a secondary school north of Bangkok and killed three teachers and three students, according to a statement from the national police.
Dozens of police and emergency responders assembled outside Debsirin Nonthaburi School in Nonthaburi province on Friday. Parents rushed to collect their children, while distraught students and staff comforted each other outside.
“I feared for my life and was anxious about not being able to fulfill my dreams,” expressed Pawarisa Maylissa, a grade 12 student aspiring to attend medical school. “The gunshots were incredibly loud, as if the suspect was just one floor above us. I could even hear bullets hitting the ground.”
Fifteen students were injured, not by gunfire, but while attempting to escape, according to deputy interior minister Polapee Suwunchwee, speaking to Thai PBS.
Local media identified the shooter as a teenage student from the school and reported that he was also deceased. Some reports indicated that police officers had shot and killed the suspect, while others suggested he died by suicide.
“This tragic incident is unimaginable. How could something like this happen here?” stated Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul to reporters at Bangkok’s Government House.
Images from local media depicted the suspect in a purple school uniform with a black cross-body bag, surrounded by bullet casings.
An AFP journalist witnessed a team of mental health workers arriving at the scene, where traffic had come to a near standstill.
Thailand ranks high in gun ownership within the region, with approximately 10 million firearms in circulation—roughly one for every seven residents.
Despite past vows to tighten gun laws, shootings continue to occur.
Earlier in the year, Thai police shot and arrested a teenager who opened fire at a school in the south, claiming the life of the principal and injuring two students. The weapon used belonged to a police officer.
In 2022, an ex-policeman armed with a gun and a knife attacked a nursery in northern Thailand, killing 24 children and 12 adults in one of the country’s deadliest massacres.
AFP
