Police said the teenager fired 26 rounds during the attack, while another 34 rounds of ammunition were recovered from the scene. (Photo: Reuters)

Caught on camera: Students crouch under desks as gunfire erupts at Thailand school

A 14-year-old boy killed his grandparents before opening fire at a school in Bangkok, leaving at least seven people dead. Newly surfaced visuals capture the terror inside a classroom, with students hiding beneath their desks as gunshots continued outside.

by · India Today

In Short

  • Seven people killed including suspected gunman and grandparents
  • Police said the 14-year-old fired 26 rounds during the attack
  • Teen fired 26 rounds, later shot himself and died in hospital

As gunshots rang out through a Thailand school, students inside one classroom dropped to the floor and hid beneath their desks on Friday, unsure of what was happening outside. A video recorded by a student captures an entire class crouched under their respective desks, with faint sobbing audible as repeated gunfire echoes through the building.

The chilling footage offers a glimpse of the terror inside the school as a 14-year-old student fired 26 rounds during the deadly attack.

Seven people, including the suspected gunman, were killed in the attack at Debsirin Nonthaburi School on the outskirts of Bangkok, while 23 others were injured, according to police. The teenager later shot himself and died in hospital.

New visuals act like a chilling glimpse inside the classroom, where students crouched beneath their desks as repeated gunshots rang out outside. Some can be heard sobbing as they lie on the classroom floor, keeping themselves out of sight while the firing continues.

Caught on camera: Students crouch under desks as gunfire erupts at Thailand school

The fear was also evident in the accounts of students who managed to leave the building. An 18-year-old student initially thought the sound of gunfire was fireworks before a teacher told him to evacuate.

Some students left the school wearing only socks or barefoot, clutching sheets of paper and mobile phones. Others continued to hide under their desks, weeping as they listened to the gunfire outside.

Police said the teenager fired 26 rounds during the attack, while another 34 rounds of ammunition were recovered from the scene.

TEEN KILLED GRANDPARENTS BEFORE SCHOOL ATTACK

Investigators said the teenager first shot and killed his grandparents at their home at around 5 am local time before heading to school.

Each grandparent was killed by a single gunshot to the head, Police Colonel Thadsakorn Konthong, superintendent of Bang Bua Thong Police Station, told Reuters.

After the killings, the teenager boarded the school van that arrived to pick him up, carrying the firearm and dozens of bullets with him.

His school, Debsirin Nonthaburi School, is around 18 km from his home. His first class began at 8.30 am, followed by another at 9.20 am.

Police estimate that about 30 minutes into his second class, the teenager pulled out the gun and began firing. At 9.57 am, police received a call reporting a shooting at the school.

Police said the teenager is believed to have first targeted teachers on the sixth floor of the building where he studied, killing three of them.

He then moved down a corridor and fired at students, Police Major General Dejrapee Kongdee, commander of the Nonthaburi Provincial Police, said.

The teenager later encountered the school's deputy director and the director's secretary on a staircase and shot both of them dead, police said.

After police arrived, the teenager moved into another building. Officers evacuated students and teachers before searching the building floor by floor.

The teenager was found on the fourth floor at around 10.40 am after shooting himself. He was still alive and was taken to hospital, where he later died.

Emergency worker Kiatikhun Verapongpradith said the scene was chaotic, with his team treating students who had suffered wounds to their backs, chests and arms.

Police said the firearm and ammunition belonged to the teenager's grandfather. Investigators found signs that the weapon had been taken from the grandfather's bedroom.

The motive for the attack remained unclear.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the teenager appeared to have been stressed by his studies and that the attack appeared to have been planned.

Police described the teenager as quiet, not very sociable and academically capable. He attended tutoring classes on weekends and reportedly played shooting games late into the night.

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