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Home killings, then school
A 14-year-old student opened fire at Debsirin Nonthaburi School in Nonthaburi province northwest of Bangkok on Friday, killing at least five people and wounding more than 20, after police said he also appeared to have killed his two grandparents at the family home earlier in the morning.
“Five school staff members, including teachers and administrators, died in the shooting around 10 a.m.”
Deputy Interior Minister Polapee Suwunchwee said at the scene that five school staff members, including teachers and administrators, died in the shooting around 10 a.m., and Bangyai Hospital said 23 people were wounded, with 10 in critical condition.
Police spokesperson Trairong Piwpan said the boy waited until classes started and began shooting inside his classroom before walking out and firing more shots, and officials said he took his own life at the school.
Regional police Commander Wattana Yeejeen said police found both grandparents dead of apparent gunshot wounds at the home after the shooting.
Reuters reported that the gunman fired at least 26 bullets using a gun that belonged to his grandfather, and an additional 34 rounds were found.
Stress claims and conflicting counts
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, speaking after touring the school, confirmed the shooter was 14 and said the student had shown signs of stress connected to school, while Reuters said police described the attack as Thailand’s worst mass killing in nearly four years.
BBC reported that Thailand’s prime minister said the attack was "well prepared" and that police had said five teachers were killed before the 14-year-old gunman turned the weapon on himself.
A witness told Reuters that students hid inside a classroom while they heard gunshots from another building before police officers knocked on the door and cleared a way for them to leave the building, and Amporn Niamfuang said there was the sound of a single gunshot and then a pause before multiple continuous shots.
Casualty figures varied across outlets, with Reuters saying at least five people died at the school and 23 were wounded, while Arise News said seven people, including the suspect, died at the school and at least 30 others were injured.
CNN reported a revised death toll in which five teachers were killed and the suspect’s two grandparents were also killed at their house, while it said authorities had yet to determine how the teenager gained access to the weapon.
Gun control and school closures
Thailand’s Education Ministry and the school itself announced closures after the attack, with the school saying all classes will be suspended between Aug. 10 and Aug. 14 and school staff instructed to work from home during that time.
“All classes will be suspended between Aug. 10 and Aug. 14 and school staff have been instructed to work from home during that time”
Reuters said Anutin vowed to introduce a new firearms control law, and BBC reported that the prime minister pledged to introduce a new firearms control law after the shooting raised questions about gun control.
The Guardian said Anutin vowed to propose a new law to restrict the carrying of firearms by the public, and it framed the shooting in a country with one of the highest rates of private gun ownership in the world.
Police said the gun was legally registered to the grandfather, and Reuters reported the firearm and the bullets belonged to the grandfather, with an initial inspection finding signs that the firearm had been searched for inside the grandfather's bedroom.
In the aftermath, Reuters quoted emergency worker Kiatikhun Verapongpradith, 47, describing how his team treated students with injuries to their backs, chest and arms and then rushed to the fourth floor where they found the teenager after he shot himself.
