Thai student kills nine in home and school rampage
Bbc · 2 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
A 14-year-old boy shot dead his grandparents at home at dawn, then travelled to Debsirin Nonthaburi School on the outskirts of Bangkok and opened fire shortly before 10am on Friday. He later killed himself, leaving nine people dead in total, including himself, and 23 others injured.
Key Points
- Police said the teenager first killed his grandparents at home, then took a bus about 18km to the school before beginning the attack just before 10am local time.
- At the school, he killed three teachers and two school officials before turning the gun on himself after about 40 minutes of violence.
- Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the attack was “well prepared”, with clear steps and goals, and that the boy still had more than 30 bullets left.
- Authorities said 23 people were wounded and nine remained in critical condition, while forensic officers found several shots struck victims in vital areas.
- Students described barricading classroom doors with desks, switching off lights and hiding as photos of the alleged shooter spread through student chat groups.
Why It Matters
The shooting was described as the second school shooting in Thailand this year and has renewed pressure on the government to tighten gun control in one of Southeast Asia’s largest gun-owning countries.
Police are continuing to investigate the boy’s motive, while his divorced parents were called in for questioning after officers removed computer equipment and boxes from the home he shared with his grandparents.