A teenage suspect fatally shot his grandparents before carrying out a devastating attack at a school north of Bangkok on Friday, claiming the lives of at least six more people, Thai police have confirmed.
The horrifying incident unfolded when the adolescent, identified as a student at Debsirin Nonthaburi School, first used his grandfather’s handgun to kill both grandparents. He then travelled to the secondary school in Nonthaburi province, where he opened fire, killing three teachers and three students, according to a statement from national police.
Emergency services and dozens of police officers descended upon the school as frantic parents rushed to collect their children. Tearful students and staff were seen comforting one another outside the premises, with the scene described as chaotic and emotionally charged.
Pawarisa Maylissa, a 12th-grade student with aspirations of attending medical school, recounted the terror she experienced. “I was afraid that I would die, and I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to pursue my dreams,” she said. “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.”
Deputy Interior Minister Polapee Suwunchwee told local broadcaster Thai PBS that 15 injured students had not been struck by gunfire but had sustained injuries while attempting to flee the building.
The suspect was also reported dead, though conflicting accounts emerged regarding the circumstances. Some reports suggested police officers had shot and killed the teenager, while others indicated he had died by suicide.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul expressed his dismay at the tragedy, telling reporters at Bangkok’s Government House: “It’s such a terrible incident. It should never have happened. How could this happen in our country?”
Photographs published by local media showed the suspect dressed in a purple school uniform, carrying a black cross-body bag, with bullet casings visible on the ground nearby. A dozen mental health workers were later seen arriving at the school, where traffic had ground to a near standstill.
The attack has once again highlighted Thailand’s troubling relationship with gun ownership. The kingdom has one of the highest rates of firearm possession in the region, with an estimated 10 million guns in circulation—approximately one for every seven citizens. Despite repeated promises to tighten gun laws, such tragedies have continued to occur.
In February of this year, police shot and arrested a teenager who opened fire at a school in southern Thailand, killing the principal and wounding two students. That suspect had used a police officer’s weapon, having stabbed the officer and stolen his 9mm pistol shortly before the attack. Authorities later revealed the teenager had been hospitalised for psychiatric treatment the previous December.
Friday’s massacre echoes the country’s deadliest shooting in recent memory—the 2022 attack in which a former policeman armed with a gun and knife stormed a nursery in northern Thailand, murdering 24 children and 12 adults.
