Thailand school shooting: 8 dead including teen gunman

A 14-year-old student killed his grandparents and then opened fire at his school in Nonthaburi province, near Bangkok, on Friday, leaving five people dead on campus and wounding 22 others before taking his own life, police said. The attack at Debsirin Nonthaburi school brought the total death toll to eight, including the teenage gunman.

The attack

Police said the teenager used a firearm belonging to his grandfather, firing at least 26 bullets during the rampage. When officers found him, he had 34 additional rounds of ammunition. The shooting began around midday at the prestigious school, which educates about 3,100 students and employs 147 teachers, according to district authorities.

Arsit Sampantharat, permanent secretary of the interior ministry, told PPTV that the suspected attacker remained inside the school after initial reports. Emergency worker Kiatikhun Verapongpradith said his team arrived while the shooting was still ongoing. He described treating students with wounds to their back, chest, and arms. “We found a male teacher lying dead on an upper floor,” Verapongpradith said. “In another room, we found a female teacher with injuries to her chest and arm.” Health officials reported that nine people were in critical condition.

Students shelter in classrooms

Images from the scene about an hour after the shooting showed people gathered outside, comforting one another, while police and first responders worked inside. The building appeared to have been secured, although officials had not publicly confirmed the gunman's status. One witness told reporters that students had hidden in a classroom after hearing gunshots from another building. Police officers later knocked on the door and escorted everyone to safety.

The school is part of the Debsirin network, founded by the Thai royal family. Its alumni include prime ministers, scholars, and writers, and it is considered one of the country's most respected educational institutions.

Thailand's struggle with gun violence

Thailand has the highest rate of civilian gun ownership in Southeast Asia, and the Small Arms Survey in 2017 ranked it 13th globally for small gun possession. This latest attack is part of a troubling pattern of mass shootings in the country over the past six years. In 2022, a former police officer carried out a three-hour gun and knife rampage in the northeast that killed 36 people, including 22 children who were stabbed as they slept at a daycare center. That remains the deadliest single-perpetrator attack in Thailand's recent history.

What lies ahead

Authorities have not yet identified a motive for Friday's attack. Investigators are likely to examine the teenager's background, mental health, and how he accessed his grandfather's firearm. The tragedy has revived debates about gun control in a nation where firearms are deeply intertwined with culture and politics. As the wounded recover and the community grieves, questions will persist about what more can be done to prevent such horrors in the future.