At least eight people were killed on Friday when a 14-year-old student shot dead his grandparents at their home and then opened fire at his school on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thai police said.
The attack took place at Debsirin Nonthaburi School in the Bang Kruai district of Nonthaburi province, north-west of the capital. The suspect, a Mathayom 3 student enrolled at the school, was found dead at the scene.
The toll rose through the day
Casualty figures climbed through the day, and accounts of the breakdown still differ between outlets. Early reports, including Hiru News, put the toll at one teacher killed and four injured. National police, cited by AFP, later said the teenager had killed three teachers and three students after shooting his grandparents. By Friday evening the Bangkok Post reported at least eight dead in total — the two grandparents, at least five people at the school, and the gunman himself.
Deputy Interior Minister Polapee Suwunchwee told broadcaster Thai PBS that 15 injured students had not been struck by gunfire but were hurt trying to flee. Police later put the number of injured at 23.
Accounts of how the gunman died also diverge: Ada Derana, citing wire copy, reported he died by suicide, while AFP noted some Thai media said police had shot him. Police have said only that he died during the incident.
Grandparents killed first
Officers who searched the suspect’s home in Bang Bua Thong district found the bodies of his grandparents — Somjit Yimruang, 73, and his 74-year-old wife. Investigators believe both were shot before the teenager travelled to the school, using his grandfather’s handgun.
Al Jazeera reported the gunman fired at least 26 rounds and was carrying 34 more.
Motive under investigation
Relatives described the teenager as quiet and well behaved, someone who spent much of his time gaming and rarely went out. Pol Lt Gen Wattana Yeejeen, commissioner of Provincial Police Region 1, said there had been no obvious signs of stress or behavioural problems. Investigators examining his computer found he had viewed videos of school shootings in the United States in the days before the attack.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who tightened firearms rules as interior minister after a 2023 Bangkok mall shooting, said he would propose a new law restricting the public carrying of firearms. Thailand has suffered repeated mass shootings, including a 2022 killing spree in the north-east that left 36 dead, 22 of them children.
Sources: Al Jazeera, Daily Mirror, Ada Derana, Hiru News, Bangkok Post.
