Thailand School Shooting Leaves Seven Dead

At least seven people were killed and dozens of others injured on Friday after a student opened fire at a school in Thailand before taking his own life, authorities said.

The shooting occurred at Debsirin Nonthaburi School in Bang Kruai district of Nonthaburi province, northwest of Bangkok, at about 10:00 a.m. local time.

Thai police said the suspected gunman, a Grade 9 student wearing a school uniform, opened fire inside the school with a handgun, firing dozens of rounds. He later barricaded himself on an upper floor of the building before the incident ended.

Lt. Col. Trirong Phophan, a spokesman for the National Police, confirmed that the suspected shooter was among the seven people killed in the attack.

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Authorities later revealed that the student had allegedly shot and killed his grandparents at their home before going to the school, raising the overall death toll linked to the incident.

Thailand’s Education Minister, Prasert Jantararuangtong, told Reuters that those killed included both teachers and students, while police confirmed the attacker was a student at the school.

According to Reuters, witnesses described scenes of confusion as the gunfire erupted.

One 18-year-old student told Reuters he initially mistook the sound of gunfire for fireworks or someone striking an object.

“I didn’t think it was a gun at first,” he said. “There were many shots: bang bang bang. Then it went quiet. Then it started again.”

Emergency responders rushed to the school, where dozens of injured victims were treated as police secured the premises and launched an investigation into the attack.

The tragedy is the second school shooting recorded in Thailand this year. In February, a teacher was killed and a student injured in a separate shooting in the country’s south.