Here's the latest
- Revised death toll: Five teachers at a school north of Bangkok were killed Friday when a teen gunman opened fire, Thailand’s prime minister said, in the country’s deadliest school shooting in years.
- Other victims: The 14-year-old suspect opened fire at a secondary school in Nonthaburi province after earlier killing his grandparents at their home, where he also lived, police said. More than 30 people, including students, were injured.
- Suspect dead: The youth turned his weapon on himself and later died, Thailand’s prime minister said. Authorities have yet to determine how the teenager gained access to the weapon, a handgun that police said belonged to his grandfather.
- Gun ownership: Thailand has more firearms per person than most other countries in Southeast Asia, and has the second-highest number of gun homicides in the region. The PM said gun laws should be tightened following the shooting.
Thailand's gun ownership and firearm deaths outpace most of Southeast Asia
Thailand has the highest rate of civilian gun ownership in Southeast Asia, with around 15 guns per 100 people. Its firearm death rate is similarly elevated, second in the region only to the Philippines.
Countries with higher gun ownership rates tend to see correspondingly higher firearm death rates. Multiple studies link easy access to firearms with more frequent gun-related deaths, including through suicide, homicide and unintentional injury.
Thailand’s gun ownership and firearm death rates are both dwarfed by the United States, which has the highest rate of civilian gun ownership in the world and a firearm death rate beyond anything seen in Southeast Asia.
School shooting suspect had many bullets left, Thai prime minister says
Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul warned that Friday’s school shooting could have been much worse, as the suspect still had more than 30 rounds of ammunition remaining.
Speaking about the shooter’s potential motive, the Thai prime minister said it appeared the suspect had been experiencing stress related to his studies.
Anutin said it appeared the attack was “carefully planned,” with the suspect having a “clear course of action and specific targets.”
In response to the incident, Anutin vowed to strengthen school security measures and introduce more screenings for firearms. “From now on, when police set up checkpoints, firearm checks should also be conducted. Anyone found unlawfully carrying a gun will face serious legal action,” he said.
Five teachers now reported dead in Thai school shooting, but no students
Thailand’s prime minister has revised the death toll in Friday’s deadly school shooting, and now says five teachers – but no students – were killed in the attack.
Anutin Charnvirakul said in an update Friday that alongside the five teachers, the suspect’s two grandparents were also killed at their house.
More than 30 people were injured, he added.
Officials had originally given a death toll that included three students as well as three teachers and the suspect’s two grandparents.
The suspect later turned his weapon on himself and later died, Anutin said.
Suspected gunman searched for mass shootings online before attack, police say
The gunmen suspected of carrying out a deadly attack at a school north of Bangkok searched for and viewed websites related to mass shootings before the incident, police said.
Police have seized nine computers or electronic devices from the suspect’s residence as part of their investigation into Friday’s attack, which left at least three students and three teachers dead.
Thai shooting suspect's age raises "difficult questions" for society, UN says
The UN children’s agency (UNICEF) has called for better mental health services for children following Friday’s deadly school shooting in Thailand, particularly given the young age of the suspect.
“Reports confirm that the perpetrator is a child,” UNICEF said in a statement. “This raises particularly difficult questions for us as a society. As more facts emerge, it is important that we assess what happened today and what can be done to prevent such incidents from happening again.”
Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Yodchanan Wongsawat said Friday a new mental health action plan to support teachers and students would be announced following the shooting.
UNICEF suggested improving mental health services for children and “working to make all schools free of all forms of violence, including emotional and physical violence.”
CNN’s Kocha Olarn contributed reporting.
Suspected gunman is dead, Thai prime minister says
The suspected gunman in Friday’s deadly school shooting is dead after turning the weapon on himself, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has said.
“I confirm that he decided to take his own life,” Anutin told reporters.
The suspect was previously in a critical condition after the shooting at the Debsirin Nonthaburi School, near Bangkok, with doctors providing emergency treatment.
School security measures will be tightened after shooting, Thai education ministry says
Thailand’s Ministry of Education has expressed “deep sorrow” over the deadly school shooting in Bangkok on Friday as it pledged tighter security measures at schools as well as financial compensation to the victims’ families.
“Parents have been asked to make sure their children have returned home safely and to closely monitor their emotional condition,” a statement from the ministry said, adding that the safety and mental well-being of the students, teachers and others affected by the incident was its top priority.
According to the ministry, this will include a review of security procedures, particularly measures to prevent weapons and other dangerous items from being brought onto school premises.
“A nationwide meeting with education district directors has been ordered for tomorrow to discuss enhanced school security and measures to protect students,” it said.
The ministry also announced financial assistance to the families of those who were killed and injured in the shooting, including 20,000 Thai Baht (USD $600) for each victim who lost their life, and 5,000 Thai Baht (USD $150) for each person who sustained injuries.
Video appears to show students evacuating school amid deadly shooting
Several people, including three teachers and three students, were killed on Friday after a teenage gunman opened fire at his school on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand.
One 18-year-old student said he initially thought the gunshots were firecrackers going off, saying it “started getting more frequent, like ‘bang, bang, bang’ and then it went quiet at one point. And the shooting started again.”
The video below shows footage of students evacuating the building.
Parent speaks of “really sad atmosphere” at Thai school following deadly shooting
There is a “really sad atmosphere” at the Thai school where Friday’s deadly shooting occurred, as parents attempt to comfort their children amid the chaos, one parent said.
Cripps said her son was in Japan competing in a sporting event but called her in a panic. He said “there was a shooting at his school. The kids were told to lock down in their classrooms, and he obviously was very upset,” she recounted.
Debsirin Nonthaburi School, where the shooting took place, has been temporarily closed due to the incident, according to Thailand’s Ministry of Education.
Parents of students at the school have been asked to monitor their children for signs of anxiety, according to a note sent to parents. “The school is very concerned about the state of mind of students and parents,” the note said.
Student describes moment shooting broke out during English class
One student has described the moment a fellow pupil ran into their classroom and informed them that a teacher had been shot, during Friday’s deadly shooting.
Speaking to local media, the student said he initially heard what he thought was someone shooting at birds during his English class at Debsirin Nonthaburi School in Bangkok, and he opened the classroom door to check before closing it again.
Shortly after, another child ran in to inform them of the shooting. The class immediately closed the door and scrambled to barricade the room, pushing tables and chairs against the door and turning off the lights. Looking out of the classroom window, the student said he saw the shooter, who was also a student at the school, carrying a gun and walking to the building where his class was located.
Those inside the room crouched down on the floor in the darkness, waiting for help for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, an 18-year-old student said he initially thought the gunshots were firecrackers going off.
Thai prime minister calls school shooting "horrible," says it "shouldn't have happened"
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said he was “very sad” about Friday’s deadly school shooting, adding that it “shouldn’t have happened.”
Asked if he had anything to say to the families of the deceased, he said he was “very sad that this has happened. I’m not only sad for the deceased, I’m sad by the fact that this kind of incident could happen in our country.”
Anutin added that the incident shows “why the government does not permit the extension of firearms possession.”
Gun rampage at Thai school leaves several dead
Several people, including children, have been killed after a teenage gunman opened fire at his school on the outskirts of Bangkok on Friday.
Images show children running out of the Debsirin Nonthaburi School and emergency personnel gathering at the scene, helping those who were wounded.
One unnamed rescue worker told the Reuters news agency that “it was total chaos” when they arrived at the scene, where they administered first aid to students who had wounds to their back, chest and arms.
How common is gun ownership in Thailand?
Gun ownership in Thailand is relatively high compared with other countries in Southeast Asia.
There were more than 10.3 million civilian-owned firearms in Thailand, or around 15 guns for every 100 people, according to 2017 data from the Switzerland-based Small Arms Survey (SAS).
Thailand ranks as the Southeast Asian country with the second-highest number of gun homicides after the Philippines, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington’s 2019 Global Burden of Disease database.
In February, a teacher died and a student was wounded in southern Thailand’s Hat Yai district after a gunman opened fire at a school. In 2022, 36 people were killed, 24 of them children, in a massacre at a childcare center in the northeast, believed to be the country’s deadliest incident of its kind.
Here’s what happened in the Thailand school shooting
A teenage gunman went on a rampage at a high school in Thailand on Friday, killing at least six people, including three teachers and three students, police said, in one of the country’s deadliest school shootings in recent years.
The suspected gunman, 14, stormed the school after allegedly killing his grandmother and grandfather in their home, according to police.
Using what police said was his grandfather’s handgun, the suspect opened fire at Debsirin Nonthaburi School, a well-known secondary school of about 3,000 students, located on a busy highway in the Bang Kruai district of Nonthaburi province, north of Bangkok.
At least six people at the school were fatally shot, three of them students and three teachers, police spokesperson Lieutenant General Trairong Phiwphan said.
More than 20 other people were wounded, with nine in a critical condition. The youngest victim was just 12 years old, authorities said.
