Thailand: Several killed in school shooting
· DWThe shooting incident took place at the Debsirin Nonthaburi School in the Bang Kruai district of Nonthaburi, just north of the capital city of Bangkok. Several people were killed in the attack.
Several people were killed and others injured in a shooting at a high school in Thailand's Nonthaburi province, north of the capital city of Bangkok, local authorities said.
Students, teachers and other workers were evacuated from school as authorities deployed police officers, rescue workers and emergency doctors to the scene.
Boy accused of killing grandparents before school shooting
According to the police, the suspected gunman, who is a 14-year-old student at the school, is thought to have first fatally shot his grandparents with his grandfather's handgun. The suspect lived with his grandparents, and police found them dead behind a locked door as they began to investigate the shooting.
Authorities later revised down the total death toll. Having initially said that the suspect killed six people, including students, at the school, police later said he killed two teachers and three other adults who were staff at the school.
Officials said the suspect then took his own life at the site, in the Nonthaburi province bordering Bangkok.
Bangyai Hospital, about 5 kilometers (roughly 3 miles) from the school, said 23 people were wounded, of whom 10 were in critical condition, with most suffering gunshot wounds. Earlier reports gave conflicting casualty numbers.
Thailand's Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul expressed his condolences and stated that he had instructed relevant officials to assist those affected.
"It's such a terrible incident. It should never have happened," he told reporters.
Later, Anutin said that the teenage suspect in the deadly school shooting was "under stress" and there was preliminary evidence of him planning the attack ahead of time. The prime minister also told reporters that he would discuss gun control with the country's police chief.
Students express shock
The incident took place at the Debsirin Nonthaburi School in the Bang Kruai district of Nonthaburi.
"I didn't think it was a gun at first," an 18-year-old student told Reuters, adding that he initially thought it could be firecrackers. "There were many shots: bang bang bang. Then it went quiet. Then it started again."
"I was afraid that I would die, and I was scared that I wouldn't be able to pursue my dreams," said Pawarisa Maylissa, a grade 12 student who hopes to attend medical school. "I heard many gunshots very loudly because it seemed the suspect was on the floor directly above us. I could even hear bullets hitting the floor."
According to district authorities, the Debsirin Nonthaburi School had an enrollment of around 3,100 students and 147 teachers in the 2025 academic year.
School shootings in Thailand
Thailand has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the region. It is estimated that around 10 million firearms are in circulation, or about one for every seven people.
In February, a 17-year-old stole a gun from the police and opened fire at a public high school in southern Thailand. The two-hour attack resulted in one death and two injuries.
In October 2023, a 14-year-old opened fire at Bangkok's popular Siam Paragon shopping mall, killing two people and wounding five others. Police said the shooter used a modified pistol, originally designed to fire blanks, that had likely been bought online.
Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko
Don't let the algorithm hide the news. If you rely on our team for trusted reporting, please take a moment to select us as your Preferred Source on Google by clicking here and hitting the "star" or "preferred" button, so you'll always see our verified news first.