NONTHABURI — A 14-year-old student shot and killed his grandparents at their home before opening fire inside a secondary school near Bangkok on Friday, leaving multiple people dead and dozens injured in one of the country’s worst outbreaks of targeted gun violence.
According to Thai authorities, the suspect targeted the Debsirin Nonthaburi School in the Bang Kruai district on the northwestern outskirts of the capital. Armed with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun belonging to his grandfather, the teenager fired at least 26 rounds inside the campus, primarily targeting teachers and staff, before turning the weapon on himself. First responders attempted resuscitation at the scene, but he was pronounced dead en route to the hospital.
Investigators confirmed that the violence began earlier in the morning at the family’s residence, where the bodies of the suspect’s grandfather and grandmother were discovered with fatal gunshot wounds to the head.
A Premeditated Attack
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, speaking to reporters outside the cordoned-off school, stated that preliminary interrogations of the suspect’s close friends revealed the teenager had been under severe academic stress.
”His actions also suggested that he had clearly planned the assault,” Mr. Charnvirakul said, noting that the shooter still possessed more than 30 unspent rounds of ammunition when the rampage ended.
Classmates and teachers described the 14-year-old as quiet, noting he had no known history of open aggression, though peer accounts later surfaced suggesting he had faced bullying and harbored an intense fascination with firearms and law enforcement agencies.
Terror in the Classrooms
The assault triggered widespread panic as gunfire echoed through hallways shortly before 10:00 a.m. local time. Students initially mistook the sounds for firecrackers before barricading themselves inside classrooms under the direction of school staff.
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Emergency services reported that at least 22 to 30 people sustained injuries during the chaos—some from gunfire, and others from stampedes or falls while scaling fences to escape the campus. Health officials confirmed that at least nine victims remained in critical condition on Friday evening.
The tragedy has reignited intense national debate over firearm availability in Thailand, which maintains some of the highest rates of civilian gun ownership in Southeast Asia. Prime Minister Anutin announced plans to hold immediate discussions with national police chiefs regarding stricter gun-control enforcement. Seven specialized mental health crisis teams have been deployed to the province to provide psychological counseling to traumatized students, families, and faculty members.