Pupil kills ‘at least six’ in shooting at high school in Thailand

At least six people – three teachers and three pupils – have died after another student shot several people at a high school outside Bangkok, police said.

Several other people were injured in the shooting at the Debsirin Nonthaburi School in Nonthaburi province north-west of the capital, a Royal Thai Police spokesman said.

He later told broadcaster Channel 3 that the shooter was in a serious condition in hospital while 15 others were injured, with two in a critical condition. However, authorities have given conflicting information on the casualties.

Health minister Pattana Promphat said 22 people were injured with nine in a critical condition. Some injuries were caused by falls, and it was not clear how many had been shot.

Deputy interior minister Polapee Suwunchwee told reporters at the scene that five teachers died and that the shooter killed his two grandparents at home before going to the school. He also said that the shooter died in hospital.

The police spokesman said the motive is still being investigated, adding that the gun was believed to have been taken from a member of the pupil’s family.

Thai prime minister Anutin Charnvirakul offered his condolences and said he had ordered officials to take care of the victims.

Images from the scene about an hour after the shooting showed people standing outside the school comforting one another and police and first responders walking around inside the school.

A witness told reporters that pupils hid inside a classroom while they heard gunshots from another building before police officers knocked on the door and cleared a way for them to leave the building.

In February, a 17-year-old stole a gun from police and opened fire at a public high school in southern Thailand, briefly taking people hostage in a two-hour attack that killed one person and injured two others.

In 2023, a 14-year-old boy was accused of a shooting at a major Bangkok shopping mall.