A teenage gunman killed five people and left more than 20 injured at a school in Thailand on Friday after fatally shooting his grandparents. The attack took place in Debsirin Nonthaburi School in Bang Kruai district on the northwestern outskirts of Bangkok. The teenager later shot himself too.
In a statement, the police said the gunman shot and killed both his grandparents at their home before opening fire at the school. The perpetrator was identified as a student, but no further details were provided. Students identified the gunman as a teenager who was enrolled in the school. Police said the gun belonged to his grandfather.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul offered his condolences and said he had ordered relevant officials to take care of the victims.
In photos circulated by emergency workers, students streamed as ambulances operated at the site. In one photo, one person is seen lying on a stretcher outside an ambulance, while another is attended to by a medic.
An 18-year-old student said he initially thought there were firecrackers going off or someone banging an object. “I didn’t think it was a gun at first,” he said. “There were many shots. Then it went quiet. Then it started again.”
In February, a teacher was killed and a student injured in southern Thailand’s Hat Yai district after a gunman opened fire at a school. In October 2022, a former police officer killed dozens of people, including children, in a gun and knife attack in Nong Bua Lamphu province.
Gun laws are strict in Thailand, where possession of an illegal firearm carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years, but ownership is high compared with some other countries in the region. Laws have tightened after mass shootings in recent years in Thailand, including a requirement for a medical evaluation for those who want to buy a gun or renew their gun licence. Thailand has an estimated 10.3 million firearms and about 40 percent of them are unregistered.
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