A 14-year-old boy in Thailand, described as “troubled” and “bullied” by a classmate, yesterday killed his grandparents before shooting dead five more people at a school, police said.
First he shot dead his two grandparents, using his grandfather’s handgun, then went to a secondary school in Nonthaburi Province, bordering Bangkok, and killed five school staff, national police said in a statement.
The 14-year-old perpetrator also died, the statement said, with a police official saying he had killed himself.
Photo: Reuters
Officials earlier gave a higher toll of eight dead, which had included the suspect, and initially said students were among the victims.
Dozens of police and emergency responders gathered outside the cordoned-off Debsirin Nonthaburi School, Agence France-Presse journalists saw, while parents waited to pick up their children and tearful students and staff comforted each other outside.
“I was afraid that I would die, and I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to pursue my dreams,” said Pawarisa Maylissa, a grade-12 student who hopes to attend medical school.
“I heard many gunshots very loudly because it seemed the suspect was on the floor directly above us,” she said.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters at the scene that “police interrogated his close friend who said the suspect had been under stress” related to his schooling.
“His actions also suggested that he had clearly planned” the assault, Anutin added.
“The gun was a registered firearm and was kept at a house, but somehow he gained access to it,” he said.
More than 30 people were injured, with about nine in critical condition, he said.
The shooter was identified by local media as a student of the school.
Purin Khumchoo, 17, said he was among the students who had nearly been shot.
“He was my junior, but I had a feeling that he was a troubled kid. My group of friends who knew him said he was interested in the FBI and guns, and that he was bullied by many other students,” Purin said outside his school.
“When I saw him aiming the gun at me, I thought he looked very professional, as if he had been trained for a long time,” Purin said.
Photographs published by local media show the suspect wearing a purple school uniform and carrying a black cross-body bag, with several bullet casings visible on the ground.
Minister of Education Prasert Chantararuangthong pledged to provide mental health assistance to students and ramp up security measures at educational institutions.
“We haven’t checked whether students have brought weapons to school. Our level of security is not that tight,” he told reporters at the school.
Thailand has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the region, with about 10 million firearms estimated to be in circulation — one for every seven inhabitants.
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