A 14-year-old student killed at least five people and himself in a shooting at a school outside Bangkok on Friday after allegedly fatally shooting his grandparents at their home, Thai police said.
The attack, which took place at Debsirin Nonthaburi School in Bang Kruai district on the northwestern outskirts of Bangkok, is the deadliest mass shooting in Thailand in nearly four years.
Police said the victims at the school were all teachers and staff members. Twenty-three other people were injured, with Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul later confirming that nine of the wounded were in critical condition.
Authorities said the teenager used a firearm belonging to his grandfather and fired at least 26 rounds during the attack. Investigators also recovered an additional 34 rounds of ammunition.
Following the school shooting, police searched the suspect’s home and discovered the bodies of his grandparents, who investigators believe were killed before the teenager travelled to the school.
The gunman later died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after emergency responders attempted to resuscitate him.
Students fled classrooms as gunfire erupted, while emergency crews transported the injured to nearby hospitals.
One 18-year-old student told Reuters he initially mistook the sounds for firecrackers.
“I didn’t think it was a gun at first. There were many shots: bang, bang, bang. Then it went quiet. Then it started again,” he said.
Emergency worker Kiatikhun Verapongpradith said his team arrived while the attack was still underway and treated victims suffering gunshot wounds to the chest, back and arms.
He said responders found one teacher dead inside the school and another critically wounded before reaching the teenage gunman, who still had a pulse after shooting himself.
Prime Minister Anutin said preliminary information indicated the student had been suffering from stress related to his studies and had been living with his grandparents.
Calling the attack “terrible,” the prime minister expressed condolences to the victims’ families and pledged to introduce tougher firearms legislation.
The shooting is Thailand’s second school shooting of the year. In February, a teacher was killed and a student injured in another attack in southern Thailand.
Thailand has experienced several high-profile mass shootings in recent years. In 2022, a former police officer killed 36 people, including 22 children, in an attack on a childcare centre. In 2023, another 14-year-old fatally shot two people at a shopping centre in Bangkok, prompting the government to tighten gun licensing rules.
According to the Small Arms Survey, Thailand has one of the highest rates of civilian gun ownership in Asia, with an estimated 10.3 million firearms in private hands, equivalent to about 15 guns for every 100 residents.
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