At least five killed in Thailand school shooting, police say
Authorities say suspected gunman shot and killed his grandparents at their home before opening fire at the school.A suspected teenage gunman has killed at least five people at a school in Thailand after fatal...
Authorities say suspected gunman shot and killed his grandparents at their home before opening fire at the school.
A suspected teenage gunman has killed at least five people at a school in Thailand after fatally shooting his grandparents, police say.
National police spokesperson Trairong Phiwphan said the attack took place in Debsirin Nonthaburi School in the Bang Kruai district on the northwestern outskirts of Bangkok on Friday. The suspected gunman was also dead, he said.
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In a statement, police said the suspected gunman shot and killed both his grandparents at their home before opening fire at the school. The suspected perpetrator was identified as a student but no further details were provided.
At least 23 people were injured in the attack, police said.
Earlier, authorities said six people had been killed at the school, but later revised the death toll to five.
Police said the attacker fired at least 26 bullets, and was found with 34 additional ammunition rounds. The gun had belonged to his grandfather.
Al Jazeera’s Ryn Jirenuwat, reporting from Bang Kruai, said students had identified the gunman as a teenager who was enrolled in the school.
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.
One 18-year-old student told the Reuters news agency 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: Bang bang bang. Then it went quiet. Then it started again.”
In the 2025 academic year, the school had an enrolment of about 3,100 students and 147 teachers, according to district authorities.
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.
Al Jazeera’s Jirenuwat said Thailand has an estimated 10.3 million firearms and about 40 percent of them are unregistered. The reporter added that the incident was likely to lead to renewed debate over gun controls.