Student Kills At Least 7 At A High School, Home Outside Bangkok, Officials Say

NONTHABURI, Thailand — A student opened occurrence astatine a precocious schoolhouse extracurricular Bangkok connected Friday, sidesplitting astatine slightest 5 group and wounding much than 20, according to authorities, who said nan teen besides appeared to person killed his grandparents.

The 14-year-old shooter took his ain life astatine nan school, officials said.

Five schoolhouse unit members, including teachers and administrators, died successful nan shooting astir 10 a.m. astatine Debsirin Nonthaburi School successful Nonthaburi state northwest of Bangkok, Deputy Interior Minister Polapee Suwunchwee said astatine nan scene.

The boy killed his 2 grandparents astatine nan location he shared pinch them earlier nan schoolhouse shooting, Polapee said.

Bangyai Hospital, astir 3 miles from nan school, said 23 group were wounded, of whom 10 were successful captious condition, pinch astir suffering gunshot wounds. Earlier reports gave conflicting casualty numbers.

A witnesser said students hid wrong a schoolroom while they heard gunshots from different building earlier constabulary officers knocked connected nan doorway and cleared a measurement for them to time off nan building.

Amporn Niamfuang, who owns a edifice 160 feet from nan school, said location was nan sound of a azygous gunshot and past a pause.

“And past location were aggregate continuous shots,” Amporn said, recalling nan constrictive roadworthy extracurricular nan edifice filling pinch fleeing students. “Students were moving frightened and pouring onto nan street. Young girls were holding each other’s hands and crying. I went wrong to hide.”

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, speaking aft touring nan school, confirmed reports that nan shooter was 14 and had killed himself. He said nan student had shown signs of accent connected to school.

The gun, described by constabulary arsenic mini and compact, was legally registered to his grandfather, he said.

About an hr aft nan shooting, group stood extracurricular comforting 1 different arsenic constabulary and first responders walked astir nan coeducational authorities school, which has an enrollment of astir 3,000 students ranging from 12 to 18 years old.

Police find grandparents dead

After nan shooting, constabulary went to nan teen’s location and recovered some grandparents dormant of evident gunshot wounds, location constabulary commandant Wattana Yeejeen said.

The student appeared to person changeable them earlier attending schoolhouse arsenic normal. He waited until classes started and began shooting wrong his schoolroom earlier stepping retired and firing much shots, constabulary spokesperson Trairong Piwpan said.

The boy fired much than 20 shots and constabulary recovered he still had 30 rounds aft shooting himself.

Several family members, including nan shooter’s uncle, said he usually kept to himself and was a bully student.

The family members said they were unaware of immoderate troubles he faced astatine location aliases school.

Thailand has precocious complaint of weapon owners

Thailand has 1 of nan highest rates of weapon ownership successful Asia, 2nd only to Pakistan and acold surpassing its Southeast Asian neighbors.

Data collected successful 2017 by nan groups Small Arms Survey and GunPolicy.org successful their past extended world study recovered civilian weapon ownership successful Thailand was astir 15.1 guns per 100 people, compared pinch little than 1 per 100 successful neighboring Malaysia.

Thailand had 3.49 deaths by firearms per 100,000 people, according to 2023 statistic published by World Population Review. That puts it good down parts of Latin America and nan Caribbean but comparatively precocious successful Asia. Only nan Philippines is higher successful Southeast Asia.

Ji writes for nan Associated Press. AP writers Jintamas Saksornchai successful Bangkok and Kaweewit Kaewjinda successful Nonthaburi contributed to this report.