A teenage student in Thailand killed his grandparents before opening fire at a secondary school near Bangkok on Friday, leaving at least eight people dead, including three teachers and three students, police have said.
According to the national police, the teenager first shot his grandparents using his grandfather’s handgun before heading to Debsirin Nonthaburi School in Nonthaburi province, where he carried out the attack.
The suspect, who was a student of the school, was also reported dead after the incident. Local media reports gave conflicting accounts of whether he was killed by police or died by suicide.
Dozens of police officers and emergency responders were deployed to the school as parents rushed to pick up their children, while distressed students and staff consoled one another outside the premises.
A student, Pawarisa Maylissa, said she feared for her life during the attack, adding that she heard several gunshots from what appeared to be a floor above her classroom.
“I was afraid that I would die, and I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to pursue my dreams,” she said.
Deputy Interior Minister Polapee Suwunchwee said 15 students sustained injuries while trying to escape the scene, though they were not hit by gunfire.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul described the incident as a tragedy that should never have happened.
“It’s such a terrible incident. It should never have happened. How could this happen in our country?” he told reporters at Bangkok’s Government House.
Images released by local media showed the suspect wearing a purple school uniform and carrying a black cross-body bag, with bullet casings seen scattered on the ground.
Mental health workers were also deployed to the school to provide support for affected students, families and staff.
The attack has renewed concerns over gun violence in Thailand, a country with one of the highest rates of civilian gun ownership in Southeast Asia. Estimates suggest there are about 10 million firearms in circulation in the country.
Previous efforts to tighten gun control measures have failed to prevent repeated shootings.
In February, police arrested a teenager who allegedly used a police officer’s gun to kill a school principal and injure two students in southern Thailand.
In one of the country’s deadliest mass killings, an ex-police officer armed with a gun and knife attacked a nursery in northern Thailand in 2022, killing 24 children and 12 adults.
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