A teenage student allegedly killed his grandparents before carrying out a deadly shooting at a secondary school near Bangkok on Friday, leaving at least eight people dead in one of Thailand’s latest mass shootings.
According to Thai police, the suspect first shot and killed his grandparents using his grandfather’s handgun before travelling to Debsirin Nonthaburi School in Nonthaburi province, just north of Bangkok.
Authorities said the teenager then opened fire inside the school, killing three teachers and three students before the incident came to an end.
The attack triggered panic across the school as students and staff scrambled for safety. Parents rushed to the campus to reunite with their children while emergency responders and heavily armed police secured the area.
One student, Pawarisa Maylissa, described the terrifying moments during the attack.
“I feared for my life and worried I would never achieve my dream of studying medicine. The gunshots were so loud. It sounded like the shooter was just above us, and I could hear bullets hitting the floor,” she said.
Officials said 15 students sustained injuries while trying to flee the school. Deputy Interior Minister Polapee Suwunchwee clarified that the injuries were caused by the chaos during the evacuation rather than gunfire.
Local media identified the suspect as a student of the school. Reports on his death differed, with some indicating he was shot by police, while others suggested he died by suicide. Authorities had yet to issue a final confirmation.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul described the incident as heartbreaking and difficult to comprehend.
“This is an unimaginable tragedy. It is difficult to understand how something like this could happen,” he said.
Television footage and photographs from the scene showed a heavy police presence, traumatised students receiving counselling, and forensic officers collecting evidence around the school premises.
The shooting has once again drawn attention to gun violence in Thailand, one of Southeast Asia’s most heavily armed countries. Official estimates indicate that about 10 million firearms are in circulation, equivalent to roughly one gun for every seven people.
Despite repeated government promises to strengthen gun control laws following previous attacks, fatal shootings continue to occur.
Earlier this year, police arrested a teenager who opened fire at another school in southern Thailand, killing a principal and injuring two students with a firearm reportedly owned by a police officer.
In 2022, Thailand witnessed one of its worst mass killings when a former police officer attacked a childcare centre in the country’s north, killing 36 people, including 24 children, before taking his own life.
