Six dead as student opens fire at Thai school near Bangkok
A student shot and killed three teachers and three students at a school north of Bangkok, after killing his grandparents at home. Police are investigating the motive.
Police in Thailand said a student opened fire at a high school in Nonthaburi province, northwest of Bangkok, on Friday, killing three teachers and three students and wounding several other people. The attack took place at Debsirin Nonthaburi School. According to authorities, the shooter first shot his grandparents at their home in the morning before going to the school on the outskirts of the capital and firing at people. Investigators found 26 spent cartridge casings at the scene and 34 additional rounds of ammunition.
The motive for the attack is still under investigation, said Royal Thai Police spokesperson Trairong Piwpan. He added that the gun is believed to have been brought from the student's family. Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul expressed condolences and ordered officials to provide care for the victims. He described the incident as a terrible tragedy that should never have happened, and asked how such an event could occur in Thailand.
Images from the scene about an hour after the shooting showed people outside the school comforting each other, while police and first responders moved through the building. Local media photographs showed the suspect in a purple school uniform carrying a black cross-body bag, with bullet casings on the ground. Traffic around the Debsirin Nonthaburi School came to a near standstill, and parents were reported to be picking up their children.
Thailand has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the region, with an estimated 10 million firearms in circulation, or roughly one for every seven residents. Past promises of stricter gun laws have not stopped repeated shootings. In 2022, a former police officer armed with a gun and knife stormed a childcare centre in the north, killing 24 children and 12 adults in one of the country's deadliest attacks. Earlier this year, a teenage shooter killed a school principal and wounded two students in southern Thailand using a weapon stolen from a police officer.
